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Day Five: God In Person

From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.

We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy! (1 John 1:1-4 MSG)

“But Christianity is unique [from other religions]. It doesn’t say incarnation is normal, but it doesn’t say it’s impossible. It says God is so immanent that it is possible, but He is so transcendent that the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ is a history-altering, life-transforming, paradigm-shattering event…

“If Jesus didn’t come, the story of Christmas is one more moral paradigm to crush you. If Jesus didn’t come, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere around these Christmas stories that say we need to be sacrificing, we need to be humble, we need to be loving. All that will do is crush you into the ground…

“[But] if Jesus Christ is actually God come in the flesh, you’re going to know much more about God… If Jesus is who he says he is, we have a 500-page autobiography from God, in a sense. And our understanding will be vastly more personal and specific than any philosophy or religion could give us. [Because of Christmas] look at what God has done to get you to know him personally. If the Son would come all this way to become a real person to you, don’t you think the Holy Spirit will do anything in his power to make Jesus a real person to you in your heart? Christmas is an invitation by God: ‘Look what I’ve done to come near to you. Now draw near to Me. I don’t want to be a concept; I want to be a friend.’” [Tim Keller, “Why Christmas Matters”]

Let’s pray: Father, may Your Spirit fill us with power that we would truly and personally know Jesus. We want to come and draw near to You more than anything. Enable us to experience the reality of Your presence in our midst. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

– JP

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Day Four: The Glory of Self-Giving Love

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it…

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:1-5, 10-13)

“‘In the beginning was the Word.’ I suspect there are many people who, if they know no other sentences in the New Testament, know that one—because they have heard it in carol services, in parish churches, or on the radio, every Christmas. Very few perhaps realize what John is doing when he starts his Gospel with those words…

“[J]ust as the book of Genesis begins with the making of the world, with the crown of creation being the shaping of man and woman in God’s image, so this extraordinary poem of new creation in John 1.1-18 reaches its climax with that wonderful statement in verse 14: ‘the Word became flesh.’ How else could the living God express himself within the world? What else would he become if not a human being, made in his image? John goes on to say that we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, the perfect reflection of the glory of God…

“This glory was revealed supremely in Jesus’ giving of his own life as the sacrifice for sins of the world, enthroned on the cross… when we look at this Jesus, and above all at Jesus crucified for the sins of the world, then we see the true nature of the Father’s heart. It is a heart of glory, the glory of self-giving love.” [NT Wright, Reflecting the Glory, p. 86]

– JP

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Day Three: Ecce Homo

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? …Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. (Isaiah 40:18, 21–23)

“We prepare to witness a mystery. More to the point, we prepare to witness the Mystery, the God made flesh. While it is good that we seek to know the Holy One, it is probably not so good to presume that we ever complete the task, to suppose that we ever know anything about him except what he has made known to us… He cannot be comprehended, but he can be touched. His coming in the flesh—this Mystery we prepare to glimpse again — confirms that he is to be touched.” [Scott Cairns, in God with Us, p. 57]

“In an incomprehensible reversal of all righteous and pious thinking, God declares himself guilty to the world and thereby extinguishes the guilt of the world… God stands in for godlessness, love stands in for hate, the Holy One for the sinner. Now there is no longer any godlessness, any hate, any sin that God has not taken upon himself, suffered, and atoned for… That is what God did in his beloved Son Jesus Christ. Ecce homo — see the incarnate God, the unfathomable mystery of the love of God for the world. God loves human beings. God loves the world—not ideal human beings but people as they are, not an ideal world but the real world.” [D. Bonhoeffer, God Is In the Manger, p. 30]

Let’s pray: Father God, take us deeper into You, the mystery of Your love, the reality of Your presence.

– JP

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Day Two: Welcome to the World of Wonder

“None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.’” (1 Corinthians 2:8–10)

“[T]hat is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly… God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in. He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them. God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken…

“That…is the unrecognized mystery of this world: Jesus Christ. That this Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter, was himself the Lord of glory: that was the mystery of God. It was a mystery because God became poor, low, lowly, and weak out of love for humankind, because God became a human being like us, so that we would become divine, and because he came to us so that we would come to him. God as the one who becomes low for our sakes, God in Jesus of Nazareth—that is the secret, hidden wisdom… that ‘no eye has seen nor ear heard nor the human heart conceived’ (1 Cor. 2:9)… That is the depth of the Deity, whom we worship as mystery and comprehend as mystery.”  (D. Bonhoeffer, God Is In the Manger, p. 23).

May we be like little children, discovering all the wonders of living in the kingdom of God. Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, Your love is amazing! Take us even deeper into your ways, into Your world that’s full of grace and glory. Lord, we sing to You! “I see the world in wonder”! “Wonder” by Hillsong United

– JP

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Day One: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage. He commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills. (He determined that age from information he’d gotten from the scholars.) That’s when Jeremiah’s sermon was fulfilled: A sound was heard in Ramah, weeping and much lament. Rachel weeping for her children, Rachel refusing all solace, Her children gone, dead and buried. (Matthew 2.16-18 MSG)

Where are the kids jingle belling, marshmallows toasting and holiday cheer? Isn’t Christmas supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year? Yet, the original Christmas event is riddled with intrigue, murder and survival. The powers of this world dispute the authority of God’s only Son. The rulers of this world assault the Savior sent by God. The privileged of this world deride the humble King of kings. Humanity’s resistance of God’s plan of salvation results in catastrophe – what could have been a silent, holy night has become a night of wailing and terror.

But to the destitute, the unvalued, the waiting – this is God making good on His ancient promise… His promise to send “a New King; a Rescuing King; a Forever King!” (A. Mitchell, “The Christmas Promise”) Finally! This is how our mourning transforms into dancing and shouts of joy! (Psalm 30.11). Instead of meeting God with dissension and resistance… we can gladly welcome and celebrate this “good news of great joy for all people”! (Luke 2:10).

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we rejoice in your salvation! While some may look at Jesus with misgivings or cynicism, we welcome Him with childlike wonder and joy!

Let’s sing and worship the Lord together. The Lord has come to us! ­— “Hearts Waiting (Joy to the World)” by Matt Redman

– JP

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Day Five: Revelation – Calling

Luke 2:22-39 (NIV) – When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

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. 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[c] 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.”

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.”

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[d] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

“Luke adds yet another human dimension to the story. By the time the first two chapters are finished, almost all his readers will have found someone in the story with whom they can identify. We have met the older couple surprised to have a child at last. We have seen the young girl even more surprised to have a child so soon, and her husband coming with her to the Temple, offering the specified sacrifice. The next section will feature Jesus himself on the threshold of young adult life. Now, in this passage, we have the old man and woman, waiting their turn to die, worshipping God night and day and praying for the salvation of his people. Luke wants to draw readers of every age and stage of life into his picture. No matter who or where you are, the story of Jesus, from the feeding-trough in Bethlehem to the empty tomb and beyond, can become your story.

“In becoming your story, it will become your vocation. Everybody has their own role in God’s plan.” [N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone, pages 26-27]

Response & Prayer: Let’s pray that Jesus will be lifted up in our lives today especially as we continue to want to faithfully work out our calling before Him.

As we close, let’s worship to the following song – “A Christmas Alleluia” written by Chris Tomlin, Jonas Myrin

– EK

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Day Four: Revelation – To Praise & Thanksgiving

Luke 2:36-38 (NIV) – There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

“The second prophetic witness in this section of Luke is Anna. She is merely introduced and her career summarized. In all likelihood, she is over a hundred years old, having served God faithfully with worship, prayer, and fasting for years. Sometimes our most productive years in spiritual service for God come after our most productive years of earthly toil. She has given herself full-time to a ministry of intercession. Like Simeon, she hopes for ‘the redemption of Jerusalem’ (v.38; Isa. 40:1; 49:13; 51:3; 57:18; 61:2) and tells others that the baby Jesus is a reason for praising and thanking God (Isa. 40:9; 52:9; 63:4). While her words are not recorded in Luke, her testimony makes everyone aware that God is doing something special in this child. Those who are faithful to God will hear her report and share in her praise.” [Darrell L. Bock, The NIV Application Commentary: Luke, page 94]

Anna’s beautiful response to the revelation of Jesus was praise and thanksgiving and she spoke about Jesus to all.

Response & Prayer: As Jesus is revealed to us in new ways this Christmas season, let’s pray that we will be filled with praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord, proclaiming who Jesus is to all around us.

Let’s close in worship to this song – “Noel” by Lauren Daigle (written by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Matt Redman)

– EK

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Day Three: Revelation – Transformation

Luke 2:22-35 (NIV) – When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

25 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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 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, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

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

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 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, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

“The picture is of Jesus as the true world ruler: the Lord, the Messiah, the savior, the real king of the world instead of Caesar. How easy it would be to fill in this picture in glowing, royal colours, giving us a sense of future glory, world dominion, power and majesty.

“Luke does the opposite. He chooses somber colours; and the more he fills in the picture the more we realize that this is a different sort of kingdom to that of Caesar Augustus.  It is indeed what God had promised; but, not for the last time, Luke is warning us that it doesn’t look like what people had expected.

In particular, this is becoming a story about suffering.  Simeon is waiting for God to comfort Israel.  Anna is in touch with the people who are waiting for the redemption of Israel.  They are both living in a world of patient hope, where suffering has become a way of life.  It now appears that God’s appointed redeemer will deal with this suffering by sharing it himself.  Simeon speaks dark words about opposition, and about a sword that will pierce Mary’s heart as well.” [N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone, pages 25-26]

Joseph and Mary marvel in response to the revelation of who Jesus is.  This revelation of Jesus “pierces” to the core of who they are as they are called to follow Him.

Response & Prayer: As we are reflecting and anticipating together in this Christmas season, may the revelation of Jesus pierce to the core of who we are and may we be changed in new ways as we grow in our calling to follow him daily.

Let’s prayerfully close in this worship song together: “Jesus, Only Jesus” by Matt Redman (written by Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Kristian Stanfill, Matt Redman, Nathan Nockels, Tony Wood)

– EK

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Day Two: Revelation – Of A Lifetime

Luke 2:22-35 (NIV) – When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

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. 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.”

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.”

“Most people don’t notice the young couple coming in with their little baby.  Happens all the time. No different from countless others. But, as they approach, you see one of the old men get up slowly from his seat.  He has a strange look in his eyes. What’s he thinking? What’s he going to say?

“You are almost as alarmed as the parents are when he takes the child from them, but his movement and his embrace is as gentle and firm as the love of God. He has seen something nobody else has.  He has been praying and waiting for this moment all his life, and now it’s come.  This is the Messiah; he’s seen him with his own eyes; now he can die in peace.

“How do you feel as you hear him say that? What does it make you want to do, or to pray?” [Tom Wright, Lent For Everyone: Luke Year C, pages 12-13]

Encountering Jesus is that moment “of a lifetime.” Isn’t this what we really long for as Simeon did? And, we want to be in that place every day where our hearts are drawn to encounter and know him more and more.  But, as he was led by the Holy Spirit, he was one who was devoted to, anticipating, seeking and waiting on Him so that he would immediately recognize what how the Holy Spirit was moving and would see Jesus.

Response & Prayer: Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to have hearts that are devoted to Him, seeking and waiting on Him so that we will be ready to recognize as He moves us to know Him and follow His will in our lives today.

Let’s close in worship with this song, “Adore” by Chris Tomlin.

– EK

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Day One: Revelation – The Work of the Holy Spirit

Luke 2:25-32 (NIV) – “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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 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, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

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

“There is one other facet of this passage that I should mention before we look at Simeon’s farewell. I feel I would do Luke an injustice if I did not gather up his references to the Holy Spirit and say something about them. He has referred to the Holy Spirit ten times so far (through 2:40). That in itself shows how important the Spirit is for Luke. But what he says about the Spirit is even more significant. Here in our text the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon in verse 25. In verse 26, the Spirit reveals that Simeon will not see death until he sees the Messiah. Then in verse 27, the Spirit moves Simeon to enter the temple at just the right moment to see Jesus. (Which incidentally is a beautiful illustration of how the Spirit works to fulfill what the Spirit promises.)” [Quote from John Piper’s Message – “Simeon’s Farewell to the World,” December 29, 1980]

We see the Holy Spirit beautifully at work, orchestrating for Simeon to be in the right place at the right time to finally get to see with his very own eyes the Lord Jesus, his salvation.  It was the work of the Holy Spirit revealing to Simeon and in the same way, it is the work of the Holy Spirit who reveals to us who Jesus is and so that we can know Him as our Savior and Lord.

Response & Prayer: Let’s begin afresh, recognizing our need for the Holy Spirit to help us and move us to be able to see Jesus in the center of our lives today. Let’s pray and ask for the Holy Spirit’s filling that we will “behold” Jesus as Lord, closing in this song of worship, “Come and See”, by Matt Redman:

https://youtu.be/MQVe-OYMf68

– EK

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