Category Archives: Holidays & Holy Days

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December 14, 2023

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Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Faith & Hope, God's Plan, God's Promises, Holidays & Holy Days, Today: Make it Count

OH COME, IMMANUEL (4) – HE WILL RETURN

As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed. [Daniel 7:13-14 (NLT)]

13th-century music manuscript

I began this series by saying that the Jews of the 1st century easily could have sung the words “O come, O come, Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel,” but those words weren’t sung by Jews. They were chanted in Latin over 1,200 years ago by Benedictine monks. In the 1800s, their words were translated into English, the verses rearranged, and the new version set to the melody of a 15th century French requiem mass processional.

The monk’s original version had seven verses and a verse a day was sung in the week before Christmas. Calling for God to come, each verse referred to a Messianic name found in the Hebrew Scriptures: Wisdom, Adonai (the Hebrew word for God), Root of Jesse, Key of David, Dayspring, King of the Gentiles, and Immanuel.

This Gregorian chant, however, was as much about the future as it was about the past. While celebrating our Savior’s birth, it also prepared the monks’ hearts for the day Jesus would return. You see, the first letter of each of the Latin names of God formed an acrostic. When put together in order, they spelled SARCORE but, when put together backwards, they spell Ero cras, which, in Latin, means “I shall be with you tomorrow.” While declaring the first Advent, this hymn is an urgent prayer expressing mankind’s longing for the second Advent when Jesus returns.

Scripture is neither vague nor equivocal on the promise of Christ’s return. His return is a major theme in the prophecy of both Old and New Testaments. 23 of the 27 New Testament books reference His return as do 17 books of the Hebrew Scriptures. According to Bible teacher David Jeremiah, references to Christ’s second coming outnumber references to His first by eight to one!

Jesus Himself promised His return. In Matthew 24:30-31, He spoke of a time people would, “see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.”

On the night of His betrayal, Jesus promised His disciples, “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” [John 14:3] After His ascension into heaven, two angels told the disciples, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” [Acts 1:11]

Advent is far more than a time to look forward to celebrating Messiah’s birth and prepare for Christmas. It is as much a time to look forward to and prepare for Christ’s return! Many people missed His first coming but no one will miss His second!

And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near! [Luke 21:25-28 (NLT)]

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December 11, 2023

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Bible Stories, God's Plan, God's Promises, Holidays & Holy Days

OH COME, IMMANUEL (3) – THE FIRST ADVENT

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! [Isaiah 40:3 (NLT)]

John the Baptist [Georg Pencz (1500-1550)]

Conquered and oppressed for centuries, the 1st century Jews were despondent. From its beginning in Genesis to its end in Malachi, their Scriptures were filled with prophecies of Israel’s deliverance and some 500 verses pointed to, described, or referenced the coming Messiah. Where was the descendant of David who would reward the righteous and punish the wicked? 1,000 years had passed since God’s covenant with David and 2,000 since His covenant with Abraham but God’s chosen people still weren’t free from their enemies and oppression. The Jews of Palestine easily could have sung the words, “Oh come, oh come, Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel.”  Where was he?

Where was the Messenger prophesied by both Malachi and Isaiah—the one who would prepare the way of the Lord and tell the towns of Judea. “Here is your God!”? And, where was the Messenger of the covenant?

The first Advent or coming of the Messiah occurred quietly the night Jesus was born in Bethlehem and only a few shepherds and some pagan astrologers took notice. When the first Messenger’s voice was heard, it was that of John the Baptist. Calling the people of Judah to repent, John told them the time of the promised “Messiah” was at hand. The promised Messiah, however, was not what the people expected.

Except for the 79 troubled years under the Hasmoneans, Judah had been governed by foreign Gentiles for over 600 years. It’s understandable that they longed for a king who would redeem them from foreign rule—a king who would sit on an earthly throne. But, with Jesus, the world got a king who redeemed them from sin and sits on a heavenly throne. Judah, however, wanted someone to liberate them from foreign rule, not sin! They were looking for the Lion of the tribe of Judah, not the Lamb of God and, because they expected a conqueror, they didn’t recognize the suffering servant God promised in Isaiah 53.

With that first advent or coming, God made a new covenant with His people—one prophesied in Jeremiah: “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days…. I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.…. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” [Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NLT)]

Jesus confirmed this new covenant while eating with His disciples in the upper room at His last Passover when, “He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, ‘Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.’” [Matthew 26:26-28]

In this new covenant, we receive the forgiveness of sins and God’s empowering Spirit to help us live lives full of self-giving (rather than self-serving) love. Jesus paid the ransom only God could pay and, by his death and resurrection, He freed us forever from Satan’s tyranny. Because the shedding of His blood paid our debt and purchased our forgiveness, we are secure as God’s adopted children. As the light of the world, Jesus banished hopelessness, rescued us from hell and unlocked the doors to heaven.

Our redemption only began when Jesus brought His light into the world. Death, disease, decay, and calamity remain and our enemy Satan continues to prowl. Jesus’ work is not finished and there still are Messianic prophecies to fulfill.

My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. [Isaiah 53:2-3 (NLT)]

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December 7, 2023

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Challenges & Difficulty, God's Promises, God's Word: The Bible, Holidays & Holy Days, Trusting God

OH COME, IMMANUEL (2) – THE SILENT YEARS

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. [Isaiah 61:1-2 (NLT)]

Greek god Zeus

While the Bible is silent about the centuries separating the Hebrew Scriptures from the New Testament, history is not. During those hundreds of years, Judah suffered. Although they were allowed to worship Jehovah under Persian rule, the pagan nation ruled them, required their political obedience, and demanded exorbitant taxes to support its king, court, armies, and self-serving foreign governors. When Persia weakened and fell to Alexander the Great in 331 BC, Judah simply traded one set of foreign rulers for another.

When Alexander died, the Greek Empire was divided among his generals. Ptolemy the 1st and his descendants ended up controlling the Jews. Under Ptolemaic rule, as long they maintained order and paid their taxes, Judeans were free to worship and Judaism thrived. Nevertheless, Judah was an occupied country and, for twenty years, the people were caught in a violent cross-fire between the Ptolemies and their rivals, the Syrian Seleucids. When the Seleucids defeated the Ptolemies, the Jews ended up with rulers who mercilessly persecuted them. The Temple was robbed, Jerusalem’s walls destroyed, Scripture burned, sacrifices to Jehovah banned, circumcision outlawed, Jews were forced to eat pork, and observing the Sabbath and feast days was prohibited. Statues of Greek gods and idols were placed in every town and those who refused to worship them were put to death.

The Jews must have wondered what became of God’s covenant with David as well as the one He made with Abraham promising that Israel would be a great nation, that He’d bless Abraham’s descendants and curse his enemies, and that Canaan would belong to his descendants. God even confirmed that same promise to Isaac and Jacob. But now, Israel’s promised homeland belonged to Greece and they were ruled and persecuted by their enemies. If anything, Abraham’s descendants were the ones cursed. Was Jehovah a liar?

When the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus Epiphanes, rededicated the Temple to Zeus and sacrificed a pig on the altar, Judah finally rebelled and a guerilla army was formed. Three years after the Temple’s desecration, the Syrians were defeated and the Temple recaptured and rededicated. Tonight is the first night of Hannukah which celebrates the eight-day miracle following that event. Even though the Temple was reclaimed, Judah remained a Syrian province and fighting continued between Syrian and Jewish forces for twenty more years.

Eventually, the constant fighting between the various Greek city-states weakened the Greek Empire and Judah’s independence was realized in 142 BC. Simon Maccabee became head of state and the Hasmonean dynasty was established. For the first time since the fall of Jerusalem in 586, a Jew sat on the throne but the prophecies hadn’t been fulfilled. He wasn’t from the tribe of Judah and David’s lineage, his realm didn’t extend from sea to sea, and peace did not reign. The Hasmoneans’ time in power was troubled by corruption, political infighting, terrorism, and violent clashes between the Pharisees and Sadducees. The nation became divided and weak.

After the Roman general Pompey defeated the Greeks, he had no trouble extending control over the divided nation of Judah and, in 63 BC, Rome conquered Jerusalem. Once again God’s chosen people were subservient to a foreign power. When the New Testament opens, rather than a descendant of David’s, it was Herod the Great, a descendant of Esau, who sat on the throne!

The people of Judah wondered when Jehovah would fulfill His promises. Would the time of His favor ever come? When would His anointed king avenge His people?

It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation! It is I, the Lord, who has the power to save! … For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to ransom them from their oppressors. [Isaiah 63:1,4 (NLT)]

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December 4, 2023

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Bible Stories, God's Plan, God's Promises, Holidays & Holy Days, Patience & Perseverance

OH COME, IMMANUEL (1) – PROMISES MADE

Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. … I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. [Zechariah 9:9,10 (NLT)]

O come, O come, Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

Advent wreathYesterday was the first Sunday in Advent—a season when Christians throughout the world prepare for the coming of Christ. For most of my life, I attended liturgical churches where, on each of the four Sundays in this season, we’d sing “Oh, Come, Oh Come, Immanuel” as the Advent candles were lit. Although this song is sung by 21st century Christians, its words easily could have been sung by 1st century Jews. Immanuel means “God with us” and, after centuries of being subject to pagan nations, they yearned for God to come and ransom their captive land.

They certainly wondered when God would fulfill the promise made to David 1,000 years earlier. Found in 2 Samuel 7, God promised David a secure homeland for the people of Israel; assured him of a never-ending dynasty; that one of his descendants would build God a house and sit on the royal throne; and that the descendant would have a Father/son relationship with God. God’s promise ended with these words: “Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.”

“Forever” meant the promise was eternal and absolute. With no restrictions placed upon the promise’s fulfillment, it didn’t depend on the obedience of David or Israel. This promise rested solely on God’s faithfulness and it was this promise that became the basis for Israel’s hope of a Messiah—the anointed one who would deliver Israel from God’s enemies.

No timeline for the fulfillment of God’s promise was given and, in the thousand years that followed, Israel was anything but free of enemies and opposition. The nation divided, its two kingdoms fought one another, the northern kingdom was exiled to Assyria, the southern to Babylon, and David’s earthly dynasty ended.

When the exiles returned after Persia defeated Babylon, no heir of David sat on the throne and Judah was just a tiny part of Persia’s vast empire. The Old Testament leaves Jewish history around 432 BC in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah with the Temple rebuilt and Jerusalem’s walls reconstructed and closes with the prophetic voices of Zechariah and Malachi.

Prophesying about Israel’s future, Zechariah spoke of a coming king and the restoration of God’s people. God promised, “I will strengthen Judah and save Israel; I will restore them because of my compassion. It will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God, who will hear their cries.” [10:6] The prophet Malachi relayed God’s promise of two messengers. The first would prepare the way for the Lord and the second, the one for whom the people longed, would be the messenger of the covenant—the Lord Himself.

Because only one page in our Bibles separates the book of Malachi from that of Matthew, we may not realize that about 500 years pass in the turn of that page. There were nearly five centuries of silence from God and His prophets until we hear a voice like that of Elijah, in the Judean wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord.

Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming. [Malachi 3:1 (NLT)]

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!” [Isaiah 40:3 (NLT)]

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November 23, 2023

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Holidays & Holy Days, Prayer, Thanks & Praise

GIVING THANKS  – Thanksgiving 2023

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. [Psalm 9:1-2 (ESV)]

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! [Psalm 100:4 (ESV)]

wild turkeyWhile browsing a bookstore (yes, they still exist), I came across a book offering more than 100 ways to say “Thank you.” It suggested ways to express one’s appreciation for milestone celebrations, business opportunities, assistance, social events, and assorted gifts. It even offered “damage control” for tardy thank you notes. There also were chapters devoted to topics like stationery, envelopes, and internet etiquette. One chapter offered a “thank you thesaurus” complete with several “glowing superlatives and energetic adjectives.”

Like the book’s author, I firmly believe in writing thank you notes and, for the most part, still write them by hand. Nevertheless, I find it difficult to believe anyone needs a 160-page book to help them express their thanks. Granted, I haven’t attended a debutante charity ball nor have I received an ambassador’s invitation to a reception, so I probably travel in a different circle than the author. Nevertheless, if such occasions should arise, I now know where to find the perfect wording for my thank you note.

Some of us may be etiquette-challenged but, fortunately, there’s no official protocol for thanking God. We certainly don’t need a thesaurus or a list of vivid superlatives and adjectives for our prayers. Since God is the one who does the mountain moving, we don’t need the author’s list of “power words that move mountains.” Moreover, we don’t need to know the “do’s and don’ts of using honorifics.” Although we should remember that Jesus does not have the middle initial of “H” and that God’s last name isn’t “Dammit,” simply addressing God by any one of His Biblical names works fine.

I agree with the author that our thanks should be specific; simply saying “thanks for the many blessings” is way too generic for our generous God. Even so, I think God already knows if the pink cashmere sweater looks fantastic with the new beige skirt or that the blender will be put to good use when making our morning smoothie.

Along with guidance in writing thank you notes for things like job interviews, birthday presents, condolences, party invitations, and house visits, the author included ways to express thanks for opportunities, love, friendship, continued loyalty, for “being there” and for “saving me from myself.” While just about every reason to thank people was covered, had she been writing about thanking the Almighty, the author missed a few important occasions. There were no sample letters for disappointments, delays, illness, challenges, difficult people, or pain—the sort of things the Apostle Paul might call “thorns.”

Breaking the author’s rules of proper etiquette, we can tell God we don’t care for His gift, we’d prefer something else, or we’d like to return it for something else. Nevertheless, Scripture tells us we are to give thanks in all circumstances and it’s expressing thanks during the unwelcome things that pose a problem for most of us. Even though it’s not easy, we must have thankful hearts in the midst of all that our loving God has put on our plates!

When offering thanks to God, we don’t need to fret about the proper length, right superlative, perfect stationery, ink color, or even our spelling. There are only two rules when thanking Him. The first one is simple: just do it! Never miss an opportunity to give thanks. Praise and thanksgiving are to be a part of our lives—at all times and in all circumstances. Let’s never limit giving thanks to one day a year! Even without the turkey and dressing, every day should be a day of thanksgiving! Second, while our prayers of thanks don’t have to be as eloquent as David’s, they should be as frequent and as heartfelt.

The thankful heart sees the best part of every situation. It sees problems and weaknesses as opportunities, struggles as refining tools, and sinners as saints in progress. [Francis Frangipane]

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)]

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. [Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV)]

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June 15, 2023

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Family, Friends & Fellowship, Forgiveness, Holidays & Holy Days, Knowing Him, Peace of God, Trusting God

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER (Father’s Day 2023)

And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. [2 Corinthians 6:18 (NLT)]

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! [1 John 3:1 (NLT)]

I lost my first father the same year I gained my second one. I only had my birth father for twenty years, but I was blessed to have my father-in-law for thirty-seven! Dad J lived his life well—with vigor, enthusiasm, joy, laughter, and a whole lot of love. Compassionate and generous, responsible and helpful, good-humored and resourceful, he was a man of faith and integrity (with a large dose of mischief on the side). The Bible might describe him as a man after God’s heart.

Nineteen years ago, my father-in-law died as the result of a car accident. His severe injuries necessitated him being air-lifted to a distant trauma center and, by the time any family got there, he was gone. Initially, it troubled me that, in his final hours, Dad was alone in a strange place. There was no one to tell him that my mother-in-law (who’d been taken to another hospital) had survived the crash and there were no loved ones to hold his hand or pray with him. Then I realized that Dad was never alone; his Heavenly Father was right there with him, protecting, comforting, and leading him home.

If, at any point in his ninety-six years, Dad had been told that he had only one day left in which to live, I think he would have lived that last day in the same way he lived every other one. He had no regrets, no grudges, no scores to settle, and no debts to repay. There was no one to whom he owed an apology, no amends that had to be made, no deeds left undone, and no loving words left unsaid. He was an example of how life should be lived and an inspiration to us all. In the words of Will Rogers, Jr., “His heritage to his children wasn’t words or possessions, but an unspoken treasure, the treasure of his example as a man and a father.” Indeed, he was as close to an ideal husband and father that any mortal man could be. I enjoy the benefit of his example in my husband and our boys because there’s a beautiful bit of Dad J in them all.

For me, Father’s Day is a day of celebration and thanks because I was blessed by the fathers in my life. Sadly, not every earthly father is worthy of a place in the Dad’s Hall of Fame. While cars and washing machines come with instruction manuals, fatherhood doesn’t. It’s a learn-as-you-go role and even the best fathers make mistakes.

Nevertheless, we must never allow a dysfunctional relationship with our earthly fathers to distort our view of God, our Heavenly Father. Earthly fathers can be untrustworthy and deceitful, but God is faithful and never lies. Earthly fathers might withhold love, but God is love. Earthly fathers can be emotionally or physically absent, but God is every-present. Earthly fathers can be condemning, enraged, and bad-tempered, but God is forgiving, merciful, and patient. Earthly fathers can be brutal and harsh, but God is kind and compassionate. Earthly fathers may play favorites, but God has no favorites! Even the best earthly father is imperfect and temporary, but our heavenly Father is perfect and everlasting.

For those fathers who failed to live up to their roles, may we offer them the same grace and forgiveness our Heavenly Father offers us. Let us leave any bitterness behind and move forward into tomorrow with peace, courage, faith, and humility—confident in the knowledge that we are unconditionally loved by our Father in Heaven!

It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father. [Pope John XXIII]

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. [Psalm 103:13 (NLT)]

God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. [2 Corinthians 1:3 (NLT)]

Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close. [Psalm 27:10 (NLT)]

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