Christmas Joy: Resources

We celebrate Advent each December.  Some years we feel merry and bright; other years we feel lonely or anxious.  What restores our emotional center is knowing that God gives the gift of love and hope through Jesus Christ, Savior and King.  

When the Messiah was born long ago in a faraway manger, the world power system shifted.  God's mysterious arrival as a baby inspires awe.  The Son of Man defeated the powers of sin and death worldwide, forever, on the cross.  He offers us this  priceless gift of grace. 

During the Christmas season rejoice.  Immanuel, God with us, has ushered in his kingdom.  God reigns.  Therein lies our comfort and joy. 

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death."
Romans 8:2

BOOKS

Gorrell, Angela Williams. The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. Eerdmans, 2021. 
(Gorrell is the first speaker/author in the free, online Calvin January Lecture Series, starting 1/10/22.  See calvin.edu/january )

Lucado, Max. Because of Bethlehem: Love is Born, Hope Is Here. Neslon. 2020

Keller, Timothy. Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth behind the Birth of Christ. Viking. 2016

Stanley, Andy. Who Needs Christmas. HarperChristian Resources. 2019

Tripp, Paul David.  Come Let Us Adore Him: 31 Daily Advent Devotional. Crossway. 2017

Warren, Rick. The Purpose of Christmas. Howard Books. 2008

Wolgemuth, Nancy DeMoss. The First Songs of Christmas: A 31 Day Advent Devotional. Moody. 2021

Grace & Giving Thanks: November 2021 Resources

Grace, Mercy, and Thanksgiving are missing in action in today's world, unlike the kingdom of God.  

Have you been cut off in traffic lately, shut down in conversation, or cancelled from the family holiday gathering?  Or even more hurtful, have significant relationships, whether personal, business, or financial, fractured under the strain of manipulation, miscommunication, betrayal, or brokenness?   

The public record of achievement and success we post online, often does not match our real struggles and stumbling.  We'd like to imagine life as lofty, but frequently we experience it as draining. 

People are "wrecks" Beth Guckenberger reminds us in Start with Amen.  Admitting this fact is the first step in reconciliation.  The human condition is marred by sin, in other words.  In love, God reaches out to unlovable me and you, who perform poorly.  However, forgiveness, second chances, raising the dead, and making new creations characterize I AM.  Although wronged, God takes the initiative to reconcile, to forgive, and to give up holding anything against the one who did harm.  

Amazingly, through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, we can be restored to relationship with God.  Jesus paid our fees and redeemed us.  We are forgiven. We are adopted into God's family.  We begin living with hope and the expectation of reunion.  Here on earth, we may learn to say "Amen" or "so be it."  Amen "allows me to rest, even when all seems lost."  

If you are approaching this holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas with any measure of reluctance or dread, it may be time to rethink and surrender the role of controller or victim.  Say "yes" to God in trust, despite the chaotic times.

Here are a few good books for a fresh perspective.  You will find them at your library or bookstore.

Guckenberger, Beth. Start with Amen: How I Learned to Surrender by Keeping the End in Mind. Thomas Nelson, 2017.

Keller, Timothy. The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith.  Penguin Books, 2011.

Lerner, Harriet. Why Won't You Apologize?: Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts. Gallery Books, 2017.

Simons, Ruth Chou.  When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace. Thomas Nelson, 2021.

Voskamp, Ann. One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. Zondervan, 2011.

Spiritual Disciplines Series: Getting Started Seeking God

Christianity is an ancient religion.  Around the world and throughout the ages, many have practiced spiritual disciplines to draw closer to God.  Like any healthy friendship or marriage, it doesn't just happen.  It requires time, effort, and intention.  When you make time to meet with God, the relationship deepens.  We see many references to "Seeking God" in the Old and New Testament.

"But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul." Deuteronomy 4:29

"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1

Do we really need God?  Do modern people like us have time for God?  In a word, yes.  Those mentioned in holy scripture are just like us.  We are still seeking God:

To Worship God

To Give God Glory
To Serve God

To Know God's Will
To Obey God's Laws and Commands
To Repent
To Find Comfort

To Find Peace
To Find Refuge
To Find Salvation
To Get Guidance
To Get Help
To Receive Forgiveness
To Receive Healing

To Receive Blessing 

In the end, ancients and contemporaries have found God to be trustworthy, praiseworthy, and all-sufficient.

"Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." Matthew 6:33 (Message)

"But even there, if you seek God, your God, you’ll be able to find him if you’re serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back to God, your God, and listen obediently to what he says. God, your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you, he won’t bring you to ruin, he won’t forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them." Deuteronomy 4:29-31 (Message)

People from every age and place, who prize relationship with the Creator and purpose, seek God. They walk daily with God. I-AM exists. I-AM loves.  I-AM is present.

"Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him." Hebrews 11:6

Practicing the spiritual disciplines is one way seekers cultivate relationship and communion with God. Let's get started seeking God with 1 or more of the resources below.

RESOURCES
BOOKS

Dunnam, Maxie. The Workbook on Spiritual Disciplines. Upper Room. 1998.

Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path To Spiritual Growth. HarperOne, 2018.

Ortberg, John. The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People. Zondervan, 2009.

Ronnevik, Gretchen. Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted. 1517 Publishing, 2021. 

Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. NavPress, 2014.

Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. HaperOne,

 1999.

Wolpert, Daniel. Creating a Life with God: The Call of Ancient Prayer Practices. Upper Room, 2003.

VIDEOS

Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. Full Movie. Nov. 9, 2020.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqAiVyBwsog  (3 hours)

Willard, Dallas.  Spirit of the Disciplines. (1/3) Changed Lives, Is it Real?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSZzJRJZSXE (1 hour)

Willard, Dallas. "Dallas' Personal Daily Practices?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqLmeubS65Q (6 minutes)

Fall Reading for Christian Growth

Fall is a colorful season.  Find a sunny spot in God's presence.  Spend time communing with your Lord and Savior.  Grow in Christ.

Reading is one tool available in Christian formation.  In addition to the Bible, you might read one of these recently published books, written by well-known authors, speakers, pastors, and psychologists.

To find a copy, go to your local bookstore or shop online at Amazon or Christian Books Distributors. 

 To save shelf space and money, go to your local library.  Often they will have the book in print or provide it as a digital copy: eBook or audio book for download.  Do you have a free Hoopla or Over Drive account from your public library?  It's easy to create by contacting your library branch or checking its website.

READ
Begg, Alistair. Brave by Faith: God-Sized Confidence in a Post-Christian World.  The Good Book Company, 2021. 

Brown, Brene. Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience. Random House, 2021.

Cloud, Henry and Townsend, John. Growth Has No Boundaries: The Christian's Secret to a Deeper Spiritual Life. Zondervan, 2019.

Lucado, Max. You Were Made for This Moment: Courage for Today and Hope for Tomorrow. Thomas Nelson, 2021. 

Martin, Charles. What If It's True?: A Storyteller’s Journey with Jesus. Thomas Nelson, 2020. 

Moore, Beth.  Chasing Vines: Finding Your Way to an Immensely Fruitful Life. Tyndale Momentum, 2020.

Simons, Ruth Chou. When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace. Thomas Nelson, 2021.

Tisby, Jemar. How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice. Zondervan, 2021. 

Townsend, John. People Fuel: Fill Your Tank for Life, Love, and Leadership. Zondervan, 2019.

Whittle, Lisa. The Hard Good: Showing Up for God to Work in You When You Want to Shut Down. Thomas Nelson, 2021. 

*Chris McCorkle, CC BY NC-ND 2.0, 9/7/2007.

Biblical Lament

I have been reading A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament by Michael Card.  Job, David, Jeremiah, and Jesus all cry out to God in their pain, when they face crushing problems.  You know Jesus was a "Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Is 53:3). 

Tears and sorrow, pain, and problems are part of the human condition.  They cannot be sidestepped.  At times we find ourselves wandering in the wilderness.  Sometimes "wilderness" is called by another name:  illness, injury, war, unemployment, bankruptcy, family breakup, failure, and the list goes on. 

Then we cry and we cry out to God.  Why, God?  Where are you, God?  How will I endure this?  Pour out your feelings. God can handle the unedited version.  Maybe it's time to read the Psalms or Lamentations?

Given a choice we tend to pursue happiness and dream of prosperity.  However, that is not how Jesus experienced life.  "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 

Jesus is not surprised by the troubles we face.  He asks his disciples, then and now:  
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Matthew 16:24

What burden are you being asked to carry?  How are you coping?  Where or to whom have you turned for help?

I appreciate Michael Card sharing his journey.  We can either focus on the pain and problems or we can seek God's presence, Immanuel, God with us, no matter what.  God does not promise to fix, to heal, or to solve whatever problem weighs us down.  He does promise to be with us to the end of the age.  Anyone who has read stories in the Bible realizes God's people have suffered.  They have lamented.  They have worshipped God in the wilderness.  Persecution, prison, and prayer are described throughout the Bible.  

Lament is the first step towards worship.  In our neediness, we come to know who God is, all that God has done for us, and all that God has given.  Walking with God is the turning point from despair to worship.  God's presence is enough.

Michael Card. Immanuel. July 2, 2017.

Plant Wisdom

Advice from Plant Mom:  "Luckily the Croton Petra is tough, so even if your plant has lost all its leaves, don't lose hope.  I laughed after reading that, as my plant is drooping and wilted.  

We are like puny plants.  We need God's resurrection power.  We trust that God will raise the dead like Lazarus.  We believe that God will will make dry bones live, as the prophet Ezekiel declared.

"Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. Ezek. 37:4

Whenever we face a difficult, desperate, dreadful situation, pray the Holy Spirit's power into it.  We may feel terrified, but we cannot succumb to despair. We must learn to endure.  We can hold on to one another and to Jesus, who promises to be with us to the end.

Flags & Faith?

Sighting:  Communion Sunday July 4th, communion cups neatly arranged on the narthex table over an American flag decoration?  Hmm, that's different.  Yup, that's dangerous, theologically speaking.  Because as we know, Christ's work on the cross was for all time, all peoples, living in all places.  

"God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Have you noted the latest publishing project, God Bless the USA Bible to be released in September 2021?  Why package the Bible plus U.S. Constitution, Pledge of Allegiance, and song lyrics "God Bless the USA?   Why conflate American nationalism and politics with the ancient, international Christian faith?  This too is dangerous drift, theologically speaking.  

No one country can claim Christ.  God's kingdom was ushered in at the cross where heaven and earth met in Christ.  

Yes, understanding basic Christian theology still matters, profoundly so.