god with us

Taking us back a few decades to Dances With Wolves and the Native American named Stands With A Fist. I’ve always loved that movie, and wondered, if we had literal names, what would they be? Ask your family, see what they come up with as your name. Get ready for some laughs!

- Laughs Too Hard
- Drinks All The Coffee

I looked up some names from the Sioux tribe and loved some of these!

- Wears A Red Shirt
- Friend to Everyone
- Chief When Child

Can you imagine calling your son for supper, “Hey, WEARS A RED SHIRT, TIME TO EAT!”

And that’s exactly what was happening in Jesus’s day. It was foretold in Isaiah that the virgin will bear a son and he will be called Immanuel, which literally means “God With Us”. While this type of literal naming was common then, I wonder what the friends and family of Jesus thought of calling him God With Us. So there’s God the creator, and this is God With Us. We picture this a lot of times at the birth of Jesus, and it leaves me thinking of his early life beyond birth – was he directly called God With Us, as a name?

It’s pretty amazing that God knows exactly what his people needed – and he provides for them. God created community. We are made in his image to desire community. He provided God in the flesh to walk with us, give us an example, show us how to avoid temptation, turn the other cheek, and so many other life lessons. But then after leaving his glory in heaven, spending time on earth, he became a sacrifice for us – so we can be reunited with God the Father! And it doesn’t end there. He defeats the grave and because of his resurrection we have life! And if Jesus is God With Us, then I like to think of the Holy Spirit as God In Us. God sent us a helper to literally live inside of us, guide us, comfort us.

My prayer for each one of us is that we will feel God with us – the Holy Spirit living inside of us. He isn’t a distant God, but a God that walks with us, guides us, and brings peace by His presence. Take a moment and jot down where you experienced God with you this week.

Two days ago, my kids and I were on a run (gotta love E-learning PE!) and a downpour seemed to come out of nowhere. And shortly after, the most vibrant, complete rainbow appeared. I couldn’t think of a better example for my kids to see his faithfulness in that moment. We were soaked, ready to be home, and then, WOW, such a beautiful surprise and reminder. We have storms in this life – and He will always be with us through them. His promises are true and he is good.

(photo credit, Sharon O’Shea)

This weekend, how can we recognize his closeness? Is there time we can carve out to hear the God Inside Us? Are there some areas of our heart we can clear and make room?

Savior Baby

Nineteen years ago, Adam Nash was born. His birth was meticulously planned and while his parents always wanted another child, he was brought into the world with an additional purpose: to provide cord blood to his older sister, dying of Fanconi Anaemia. It was a medical success, and since then there have been more children conceived through IVF, carrying specific genetic makeup to provide for sick siblings. Isn’t science mind-blowing? As you can imagine, this brought up a lot of ethical and moral questions. News articles, interviews, books and movies have all followed these cases and told their stories. They’ve coined these genetically designed children as Savior Siblings and Savior Babies.

I’ve only read a few articles, am not an expert or speaking from a specific position. I am so grateful that I’ve never had to weigh options like this to save my child. The articles I’ve read span in language, from “win-win” to “commoditizing children”.

When we come to Luke 1:31-33 we find Mary, being informed that she will give birth to the Son of the Lord God. We don’t know exactly when it was revealed to Mary that this meant he was the Messiah and Savior (Hebrews 10 gives some additional insight). God came to earth, in perfect flesh with a body to make atonement for our sins. The planned Redeemer was born to walk with us, teach us, and die for us.

As we enjoy our Christmas celebrations and see the nativity sets with baby Jesus in the Manger, host Jesus Birthday parties, and rejoice with song and be merry… let’s also remember that He came for one purpose. For you and for me.

Our family has been doing a daily devotion together of the Names of Jesus. He’s the Way, the Root of David, the Good Shepard, the Alpha and Omega, to name a few of the twenty-nine name. As we’ve been reading about each of these, I’m humbled at the fullness of Jesus as a human and all the while coming with the purpose to reunite me with God. To secure my eternity in heaven through the redemption of my sins. The picture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying to his Father to take the cup from him shows his flesh. The fully human side of Jesus knew the suffering he would endure on the cross. He was born that night in the stable, completely aware of the physical and emotional anguish he would go through.

Baby Jesus in the manger, is our Guide, our Friend, our Healer, He was born to be our Savior and our Sacrifice.

Heaven: The Best Part

Seven weeks ago, my best friend’s baby Briar went to be with Jesus, at 22 weeks old, before she ever took her first breath, cooed with her first smile, or wobbled to her first step. The sole comfort in this tragedy has been having absolute peace and comfort of where she now is.

In the days and weeks following, my kids (ages 8 and 5) have asked some hard, thought provoking, and inspiring questions.

Why did Briar die? Did she believe in Jesus? How come she gets to go to heaven right away?

That last question brought all the tears back. What a sweet perspective – Briar GETS TO go to heaven first! She skips right past all of the things of this world and is right in the arms of Jesus, made perfectly whole in Him.

Our passage today, Isaiah 25, is a glimpse of Heaven. I love how the Lord is described:

- - - God is faithful.
    - God is our protector.
    - God is our refuge and strength.
    - God will celebrate with us and bless us.
    - God will end death and sorrow.
    - God will perfectly judge.

What I notice most of all is His presence. Take another read through this chapter – can you feel how close He is to His people? Hosting a feast… wiping our tears. The people are celebrating and singing “THIS is our God, that we have waited for.. let’s rejoice!” What a beautiful picture of God with His people. This isn’t a distant God, but a God that is near, hands on.. comforting us, rescuing us, eating with us.

The best part of Heaven, really will be God’s presence! Yes, Heaven will be the end of suffering, sin, health problems, anxiety, wars, famine, bills, jobs, death, fear, violence, discord, pride… ALL of it! But what’s even greater than our lives being made whole, is WHO we will be dwelling with.

Sometimes my view of heaven becomes the absence of all the struggles of this earth along with big family and friends reunion of people that have gone on before. This passage really repositions my heart to focus on the BEST part of Heaven. Being in the presence of our perfect Father.

When my kids talk about heaven, they get so excited and first talk doing stuff with Jesus… it’s a humbling reminder for me to keep my child-like faith and my eyes on Jesus.

What comes to your mind when you think about Heaven?

Unplanned

RMNP-BearLake-DSC07881

Numbers 21; Psalms 60–61; Isaiah 10:5–34; James 4

This last week, I had the privilege of taking my son to the Rocky Mountains. It was a short trip, just three days, so I wanted to make the most of it. I had two goals. First, I wanted to spend a lot of time with him, and second, I wanted to spend some time planning for the rest of 2016. If I am completely honest, one major purpose in spending a lot of time with Freddy is to examine how he is faring. I mean, we only have six, or so, years before he sets off for college! As a good father, I need to evaluate his planning and dreaming skills. Additionally, I want to influence what is in his head.

Among my few to-dos while I am on the road is this entry for BibleJournal.net. While reading James 4, early Monday morning, the Holy Spirit thumped my heart. In part, he reminded me that we are “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4:14) I couldn’t shake it. The Spirit instructed me, in that moment, that the reason we came to the Rocky Mountains was not to make great plans for the next several years (James 4:13). No, the purpose became clear as we approached Rocky Mountain National Park. Being absolutely captivated by its beauty, I understood that we were here to enjoy and celebrate breathtaking beauty. And that is exactly what we did. We did not sit piously and passively. How could we? The majesty of His creation blasted its way deep into our hearts. In reply, we stomped and shouted throughout his handiwork. We left giant footprints as our voices echoed throughout the valley. We sang stupid songs, threw snowballs and filled the air with laughter. We saw our breath in the cold mountain air and hollered over the thunderous roar of waterfalls. We pondered big questions like “why did God make it all,” and “why did he make it so complex?” We settled on really simple answers like “because He can,” and “so that we will never get bored.” We stood motionless and silent, marveling at how He did it. We worshipped!

After a long trip home, I find that I have planned nothing. Ironically, my celebration of His creation, left me with a bigger dream than I could have imagined. I want to enjoy God more. If the Lord wills me a tomorrow, my prayer is to see his beauty everyday, right here, right now, in the place that I live. Father, show me what to look for and where to look.

I found God this week. He was with us. He is with us. Will we be with Him?