Luke 1:75-79
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace
This is the song from our Spotify usually beginning our car journeys. I think of fun. Adventure. Life. Rolling, Rolling down the 'High Way'.
We've just begun Daylight Savings Time.
For some, this is dire.
They will now wake up in the sunlight and return home from work in the dark. Sunlight deprivation and Vitamin D intake. Take more Vitamin D. I have memories of people with misty eyes speaking of coming home in the dark. The day is done and some are seeing their children for the first time. When people are unhappy - we search our memories for when we enjoyed the changes. What we will do now to choose Joy. It's solutions, innovation and imprivations.
Finding Joy. The dark is not dark to the Lord. Finding His Light!
Psalm 139:10-17
Even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night”
Even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance
In your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
In all situations, we can find Joy and Love. As a process.
Discovering the Light of God in our process.
Discovering the Light of God in our process.
Some of the mature part of the nation, are coming home to an much emptier house than decades past. And in the Choice of Joy, they are delighted to find the Holidays, Holy Days, are arriving. Families can be spread to the other side of the continent and the state. Distance is just plain distance.
Retail Employees say some of the Halloween decorations are so gory, it's a Blessed Relief to put up Good News.
I've been told by store employees gore decorations are gloomy and depressing to look at. Looking away from dog bones and dead people. One worker told me the horse skeletons were the absolute worst. Especially the year their horse died, which was the year after the treasured dog died.
Gone are the days when Christmas trees were to be put up strictly on Christmas Eve.
Gone are the times that Advent was told not to sing Christmas Carols.
People are in preparation for Christmas.
Love. An opportunity with the Birth of Jesus that even long - very distant - families have the opportunity to dust off the "Love is Appreciated" ability. No one is going to say readily, "Oh, don't bother. I don't Need That. " Love - pour it on. Give.
What are we going to do with Thanksgiving. Love God.
Live lives that Give Thanks and Do Giving.
Real.
We live in so much abundance, even if it's not the glory of former days. So many life habits and patterns and trends are evolving to new needs of us - the people of God. We need to keep God, His Son Jesus, Love, Faith and Hope the priority over starched Thanksgiving napkins.
† Real. Christmas is about Loving Father God and Loving Jesus. The abundant Love Father God has for us is spilling over to care for those we love and love us.
Real. Christmas is being celebrated around us now. Lights are being put up to save 15%. Shopping is being done to avoid the frantic last minute call. Christmas like Charles Dickens said is to be celebrated in our heart every day.
Real. People are already putting up Christmas trees. I see this as I walk in the neighborhood.
Dire. To avoid Christmas as the Kris Kringle on going Parade of goods and retail therapy. Not the Sunday, Sunday, Sunday World Wide Wrestling Shopping Event.
Real. Why should we allow dictates to ruin one month instead of the slow steady warmth of Love.
Putting down what was never supposed to be dire.
We were never supposed to fight over Halloween or Autumn is in this box and Thanksgiving is in this container and Christmas is here. If someone works on their tree to have joy and beauty and handiwork and happiness and put the tree down after Valentines Day - who cares?
Faith. I know an agnostic atheist hilarity finder who wants us all to enjoy hunting and have massive gun control. Who is not going to want to miss a speck of Christmas. Someone who used to watch the nightly news. And doesn't now. And is a totally changing his decades of political party allegiance. Why mention That? We are all being changed by Life. We are in change. He sees Christmas like a child. And this ain't no child. However, he will get into his vehicle and drive all over and back to see who has put up the most Christmas Lights on their house. Looking for the Light. And if the display is raucous - mismatched enthusiasm of Sheer Joy - So Much The Better.
† This is a Season where people are Supposed to ... allowed i.e. ... to Celebrate Life. To Give Joy. It's a time when so much Joy is overflowing, you might see God's Mission to find the lost.
Being Thankful for Open Hearts
Taking what exists to find where God would rush in!!!
Finding the Light of Jesus in mankind is discovering the process of Life.
I know people who handiwork and have Supreme Joy over three trees.
On one Christmas Tree. Fall ornaments go on for the lack of Halloween admiration and stay until after Thanksgiving. Christmas ornaments come down after the Magi Left on January 7th. And what goes on next are the hearts. Valentines Day approaches in the winter. Even if it's a bleak mid-winter.
In fact, we have family putting up a small Christmas tree and then running past it until they realize it's Spring. Yes, they have a clean house but a schedule of two full-time hard-working jobs. This might have been considered poverty in the 1960s. Yet Maids come. But you have 2 jobs, homework, commutes, soccer, boy scouts, friends, appointments and out of town to see family. Illness in the family, more trips here and there. And my family says I'm giving up the guilt on the tree being there and this weekend, I'm tired, and I'm turning the lights on again. The maid dusted it - why not.
It's not tupperware boxes - this is life. It's not without humor because the lights on the tree are half appreciation and half a sigh. With the comment, "I'm not sure I got to sit down and see the tree till March, so this weekend, it's the Christmas Tree and a glass of wine."
Innovate. Put the Tender Mercy of God on life.
God Himself, Jesus, the Holy Spirit want to give you
Tender Mercy
God Himself, Jesus, the Holy Spirit want to give you
Tender Mercy
What were Elizabeth and Zechariah doing? What about Mary?
Mary's family? What's Sukkot? Well, it's Jewish and in October and it's camping and it's Harvest Gathering. Remembering God in the Exodus. Gathering. Building. Having Leisure. Now it's a sort of quilt of all different aspects.
Sukkot is the Jewish time to Remember God in many different aspects.
When I was a small child, we lived on the Mediterranean and saw the brilliant colors of France. Winter the colors were very basically grey. Without Light, the colors are flat. Mardi Gras was incredibly important with confetti and cartoon characters costumes. The food markets produce were arranged as colors. It was a feast for Joy. Celebration of Life. In the Give us the Day. And being an expatriate family, our English speaking Church was a very, very important Day. The Sermon was Really Speaking to us and was discussed all week. This was Light.
I saw the artist Wolf Kahn's work in a magazine and worked diligently to find out who this was. It's the neoclassical movement of impressionism. It's not subtle like the French turn of the last Century. This announces boldy what the impressionists found. I just love this. It's the purple announcing the majesty of Autumn.
The Orange announces the passion of, "I get to go home." The windows are purple. Light is reflected. Majesty. The journey has many colors. Dull to exciting. The lawn is not just fading - it's vibrant. We see what we usually see, God is just now Celebrating. We see what is Old with new vision.
The Peace of July. Or August. The grass is tired of being mowed and finds a new thing. This is the season of all is well and the windows are blue. Reminding us - every day life doesn't spark on just for all of us at the same time. Red for steadfast. The home, the family is going to last well past the brilliance of new paint. The flowers are blue - Joy is found from the hard work struggles of solutions and time to adjust. The flower explains blue isn't all bad. Celebrate.
God's Tender Mercy gives us Life. LIFE!!!
We see in Scriptures, one generation is vastly different from the next. Wouldn't you agree, no one has life today - what they expected. However, this Generation with all the amazing Jane Jetson irritations of what? What? The Phone Reception for the Satellite is taking longer - What? We all basically feel Summer Fireflies are missing. Something is a new flavor. And when we get to that point - we want God to answer us - when we feel like the compass has changed.
The Compass might be moving, but not really. God is the Compass.
Say again:
What were Elizabeth and Zechariah doing? What about Mary?
Mary's family? What's Sukkot? Well, it's Jewish and in October and it's camping and it's Harvest Gathering. Remembering God in the Exodus. Gathering. Building. Having Leisure. Now it's a sort of quilt of all different aspects.
Sukkot is the Jewish time to Remember God in many different aspects.
The Tender Mercy of our God is, was and will be moving forth.
Elizabeth didn't feel boldly adventuresome and was at home. Preparing. We find Hezekiah left many seals on honey. Food was put up. Elizabeth was considering what her son would need. She probably was singing. Singing baby songs.
God's Tender Mercy defines the Process to find His Comforter
Zechariah was blue. Just Plainly Freaked Out. No wonder they weren't going out much. He'd met Gabriel who stands in the Presence of God and he was in argument mode. He was a Priest doing something in the Temple with prayer and privilege and got upset and bossy. Now Zechariah is in uber think mode. While Mute. When Zechariah pours forth what He thinks God Himself is doing - Zechariah has spent time examining God. Zechariah is pre - singing. Pre - Mercy - something to remember when holidays and times of expectation are very unsettling.
Mary was on the run from life. She left her family in great haste. Sure she is having all these great facebook pictures of her travels. But Heli isn't in them much anymore. Singing is part of this Preparation for Christmas, Mary is feeling afraid and with great expectation of Christmas.
When is all this going on this Pre-Christmas - months before Christmas. Weeks before Christmas. Advent. Jesus says life is Joy. Choose Joy.
The Disciples were known to complain to Jesus. In this Preparation of Christmas - there could be a lot of complaining - instead sights are set forward.
Sing it....Oh - - - You better be good! You better be nice! Saints will know if you are naughty or nice . Saints are coming to town. If you complain - we're writing Santa to ask him to make you like Zechariaaaaahaaa. Okay, I'm kidding.
The joke is useful. Holidays, Holy Days, Christmas - we don't need more upsets. We need the Joy. Life. Hope. Goodness. Even Luke 1 had their struggles. And that is Real Scripture. For Real Life. From our Living God Himself.
Abba, Daddy, Father,
Let us Give Thanks for This Day. Taking the time to notice when the Holy Spirit blows fresh air in our lungs. When the day has possibilities. Gifts of God. Give Thanks.
Discover this Day as a gift of God. Blessed to know Jesus. To know the Scriptures. To know the Power of God. Adventure. Fun. Boldly and with confidence - approach Father God to explain the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. To impudently complain to our God by His invitation. To worship. To share Love and Life. To travel as a beam of thought to the open 12 Gates of Heaven. To fly past the streams of Shining Water to the Amazing Throne of God in His Home. Where aroma is bringing us to You, God our Father. Abba.
Tenderly we place the cares of those we Love in Your hands. With all Joy. We ask for the Living Waters of God to seep in and nourish more than we can ask or imagine. This is our God. Camels will go through the eye of a needle. Prayers answered in the 12 hour. By invitation.
Surrounding all of His Good creation with the communion of the saints all the hours of the day. More Jesus. Lifting Elliott up in His Word to healing. Calming the waters of family frightened. Rejoicing in the health of Dee. Praying for this nose cold to heal and joyous fresh breathe and breathing to return. And good willpower.
Father God's Love is flowing. We will find Joy. We know Jesus Christ.
The Light of Jesus Christ is Not Limited
and is Filled with Tender Mercy
The Light of Jesus Christ is Not Limited
and is Filled with Tender Mercy
Jesus the Lord. Jesus the Christ of God. Jesus our's. Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †
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