Come, Lord Jesus - December 2022

December 2022

 

            “Surely I am coming soon.”

            Amen. Come Lord Jesus!

            Thus ends the book of Revelation. It was a word from God for Christians persecuted by the Roman emperor. These Christians wanted Jesus to return and finish the victory that was won at the cross and in the resurrection.  They desperately wanted the promises of God and longed-for return of Jesus to come quickly. 

            I have friends who feel the same way. People I deeply care about, people who know what pain is, have said to me, “I just wish Jesus would come back, right now.”

Revelation and Advent are both for these weary disciples. In 22:17, we are invited to the waters of life (v.17), Revelation meets Christmas. 

We wait and anticipate. We shop, set up our trees, wrap our presents, hope for the smile when our loved ones unwrap them; we decorate, prepare for special worship at church because it is Christmas time; and then, finally, the day arrives. The entire season is one of waiting, anticipating, and then arriving. 

It can weigh heavy on person.  Vibrant faith gets crowded out in the hustle and bustle.  Revelation and Advent are for those who are holiday-weary or world-weary. “Come Lord Jesus.”  It’s a prayer. It’s a desperate cry. Jesus, come into my life!

He has, He is, and He will. The Jesus we meet in the manger is the Jesus who died on the cross, walked out of the grave, and sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts.  He sits at the right hand of the Father, and will one day return to judge the world. We can gain strength anticipating that day because we are sure of its coming. Equally we are sure of the Spirit’s presence in our lives today. Just we hope for the arrival of Christmas this year and the return of Jesus at the end, we can hope for the new things the Spirit will do in our lives today. Sing! Sing the song of Revelation 21.  Sing the song of Advent. Come, Lord Jesus!  Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

 

"The Fruit of the Spirit is ... Kindness"

 

November 1, 2022          

            Turn to Galatians 5:22. It speaks of the fruit of the Spirit, that is, what the Holy Spirit produces in followers of Jesus. One of the attributes that signals that the Spirit is at work in a person is kindness. In an America where election results are denied for no reason other than disappointment, where science is ignored and mocked, where opinions are so polarized there is no middle ground or nuanced thought, and where churches are emptier each week, I received kindness from strangers, and love in its fullest extent from my most intimate of relations.

            It was a dark and stormy night, specifically Halloween, which was, in fact, dark and stormy. We (I’m not specifying who “we” were, but I wasn’t alone) made the mistake of locking the keys of my new car in the trunk. It doesn’t matter who was at fault. It does matter that this happened in Cook-Out parking lot in a town more than two hours away from home. I called AAA.

            They came within an hour and went to work. They managed to get the front door open, but this car has outstanding theft protection. There was no getting in that trunk without the key. Two AAA tow truck drivers worked at it for quite a while. I guess the positive is, it will be really hard to steal my car. The negative is, after waiting an hour and watching the AAA guys fail to recue my key from its trunk internment, I had to call my wife. She had to leave the joys of distributing candy to our costumed neighbor children and drive two hours with the spare key.

            All that time waiting at the Cook-Out, long after I could not eat one more hush puppy, I sat and counted my blessings. The AAA guys were very compassionate. They gave their best and I tried to give them a tip for their efforts and time. They refused my money. They genuinely cared and were sorry they couldn’t help. The guy working the register in the Cook-Out was equally kind. He showed empathy at my plight and assured me I could hang out as long as I needed to.

            If these strangers demonstrated kindness in an America where it seems to be lacking, my wife did what I knew she would do. She got in the car and drove, nearly five hours (there and back), just so she could open the trunk and we could retrieve the imprisoned key. She wasn’t happy about it. Would you be? But she did it and I knew she would because I know she loves us. It’s a love you can count on.

            Furthermore, God is a God we can count on. There’s a lot of angst and fury in America right now. Sitting there, stranded in a strange town due to a careless error, I had some fury roiling in me. But God sat me down by the soda fountain and helped me see what was right before my eyes. Kindness and love, even in this America. I wasn’t happy about my prolonged night out at a fast place, but I was extremely thankful to see what God wanted to show me.