The Fullness of Time

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law. (Galatians 4: 4)

“When the fullness of the time came…” How many times have I read this verse and overlooked this phrase? It was not just any other day. The birth of Christ happened exactly at the moment it had been planned since before the beginning of the material world. It was not just like any other day - it was when the time was ripe, when it had matured to the point of perfection, when the time was full. 

Days had passed steadily for centuries, but then a special day arrived - one that was different because it was right – it was appointed. 

The funny thing is that by any worldly standard, the timing of Jesus’ birth was all out of whack. A young couple arrived at a dinky little town where there was no place to stay but a filthy stable and a few rags to keep warm. If you ask me, it was nothing but a big case of wrong place, wrong time. According to God’s design, however, it was perfectly as planned. It happened just the way it was supposed to. It might have been a surprise for Joseph and poor Mary who probably wondered why the Lord would not provide better conditions for them to bring to life the Giver of Life. It was not a surprised for God…Any concerns they may have entertained didn’t matter because the Father of All had it all in His hands, as usual.

Doesn’t it seem sometimes as if the timing is all wrong in our lives as well? Don’t we sometimes despair because we don’t see where the roads are taking us as the time seems to be ticking away, waiting for no one? Don’t we often let ourselves be trapped by the quick sand of worry, fear and doubt…wondering if He’ll deliver us or let us die? I imagine Mary might have felt a pinch of that anxiety on that night a couple of millenniums ago. After all, she was just a young woman about to give birth to her first baby. I am willing to suggest that she felt confused as to why things didn’t seem to be going smoothly for them. I’m pretty sure Joseph was probably going out of his mind as well. But, oh, what a miracle emerged despite the state of fright and commotion. The Hope of Mankind was born to bring Mary, Joseph and us peace – the kind that surpasses all understanding. 

God has a plan for you that will come to light at exactly the right time. Any confusion or concern you have is natural, but rest assured, the glory that will come will wipe away all that came before in the fullness of time.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. Luke 2: 6

The A-maze-ing Plan of God

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. Luke 2: 1-5

Isn’t it amazing how organized God is? His attention to detail is revealed in His astonishing sense of order, but in addition the way His plan usually unfolds reveals something else. It shows us His creativity in writing intricate and elaborate plots. He loves stories, and His stories are far more intriguing than any created by the greatest geniuses of this world. 

The passage from Luke on the birth of Jesus demonstrates God’s knack for theatrics. He didn’t have to make the path to Jesus being born in Bethlehem so complicated. By any number of natural or supernatural ways, He could have placed Mary and Joseph in that little town in time for the birth of Jesus in order to fulfill the old testament prophesy spoken of in Micah 5: 2. 

Instead, The Lord’s plan was WAY more interesting than that. A Census, a political tool from an oppressive foreign power, was used by the Maker of Heaven and Earth to bring the fulfillment of His Holy prophesy and purpose when the time was full.

Isn’t that the way of God for us too? Doesn’t it feel that many times life is nothing but a big huge brainteaser? It sure is an intricately complicated puzzle that we wouldn’t even be able to begin to piece together on our own. Once the time is right, however, He fits it all perfectly together...as we stand in awe watching how magnificently those tiny pieces fall gloriously into place. 

WOW, that was a mouth full! But when it comes to describing God’s plan, no words seem appropriate. The best part of it is that even though we are able to figure out some plots and sub-plots on this side of Heaven, we WILL get to understand it all once we make it Home… We will get to read that last page of the story of our lives, where all the questions are answered and loose ends are tied up.

Is God’s plan for your life right now looking more like a maze than like a straight path? Are you trusting Him and allowing Him to fill you up with His peace so you can be still and know? (Psalm 46: 10)

Simplifying Christmas

Every Christmas season I run around like a mad chicken trying to accomplish all the "tasks" that convention and tradition have established as the norm for the celebration.  I'm not going to say I don't enjoy it since I do like the rush caused by the hustle and bustle of the preparations.

I remember growing up in Panama, my favorite day of the year was December 24th.  And my favorite thing to do on that day was to go downtown to see my otherwise sleepy hometown become alive with last minute shoppers who made the business year worth while for the store owners.  I loved it!  The anticipation, the nervousness, the colorful lights, the decorations, the packed sidewalks, the traffic jams, the pushing and shoving...

In a way, I think that's why I go shopping on Black Friday...because it reminds me of that...minus the early drive in the freezing cold, of course : )

This year, however, everything is different.

The key word this Christmas season has been "simplification."  The circumstances of my life during the last many months have made me slow down.  The funny thing is that it is all happening without much thought from my part.  It has not been planned at all.  Things just haven't happened this year.  My sons were not part of our church's pageant for the first time since they've been alive almost.  We missed the church's Christmas dinner also for the first time ever.  I just realized that I won't be sending Christmas cards either.  Most of the kids' presents have been bought online and Dan and I have re-instated an old "tradition" we had of not buying gifts for each other.  We held that tradition for several years when the kids first came and money was short.  Baking cookies is still far in the horizon and it seems like it will mostly be made by third parties, like the place that makes the yummy frozen/pre-portioned dough from the school fundraiser earlier this year.

I have decorated the house, though, because our new home was begging me to dress it up with some Christmas cheer;and our Nativity set is looking cooler than ever!  I love sitting in front of it to contemplate the different scenes we were able to create thanks to the generosity of our dear friend Judy who has been contributing to it for the past two years.  But that's pretty much it.  We have no grand plans other than to rediscover our Savior presence within our hearts and souls.  My biggest desire, and where I am going to put my greatest effort is in seeking Him and praying He is re-born in me in an unmistakably visible and palpable way this Christmas.

Waiting for My Emmanuel is the only preparation I need.  And the rush will be like no other I've ever experienced...it is just as simple as that!

The Branch of Jese

Inspired mostly by portions of Isaiah’s chapters 7 and 11, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is a song traditionally associated with Christmas. However eloquently it speaks of the Advent of the Christ, the coming of God with Us, it is not so much speaking on the topic of the first Christmas. Instead, the hymn proclaims His second coming in its poignant and sobering verses. 

Isaiah announced that: 

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; 

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— 

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, 

the Spirit of counsel and of might, 

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD— (Isaiah 11: 1-2 NIV)

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people… (Isaiah 11:10-11a - NIV)

He will raise a banner for the nations 

and gather the exiles of Israel; 

he will assemble the scattered people of Judah 

from the four quarters of the earth. (Isaiah 11: 12 NIV)

“For a second time” the Lord will “reach out his hand… to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people…” What a glorious statement. The shoot of Jesse will come again, and He will rescue His faithful remnant. The One who once was the little child born in Bethlehem is none other than the Emmanuel, the Great I Am. One day, in His full majesty and radiance, He will lead the way. 

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1: 20-23 NIV)

O come, O come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan's tyranny

From depths of Hell Thy people save

And give them victory o'er the grave

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night

And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,

And open wide our heavenly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,

Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,

In ancient times did'st give the Law,

In cloud, and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

The Present

Remember when you were a kid? Was Christmas the most magical of all holidays for you? It surely was for me! My whole entire kid year revolved around Christmas…like the quote from the movie Christmas Story says.

I never got presents during the year; my birthday and Christmas were the only times of hope for me to have some excitement. And the kind of birthday gifts I got were not ones that would thrill the heart of a little girl with big dreams of fun - yes, socks and soap were among them. So, the promise of Christmas was the bonanza at the end of the year. Whatever fun gifts I got were always reserved for Christmas.

My list was always long. I began making it the day that TV shows featuring toys started in early November on Wednesday afternoons. That was when the biggest store in Panama would put together a one hour-long commercial demonstrating the latest toys on screen to make every kid in the country drool. I remember thinking how lucky those kids in the show were because they got to play with the most exciting toys of the season every week.

I knew I would not get everything I wanted, but it was more about the distant hope that Christmas brought to my heart year after year than about the actual presents. It was like a promise of great things to come wrapped in colorful paper and ribbons under an old silver tree.

Now that I have children of my own and see them making their list as soon as the first Christmas flyer reaches our house from the toy store, I’m reminded of those days when I was a little child. My own heart beats with joy just thinking about the hope that Christmas still brings. Not so much for the hope of material things but the anticipation of a renewing of my faith and a transformation of my mind.

That is why today, even though in different terms, I still think of Christmas as a present...the present of His presence...

This year, more than ever, I long for that Present...I  trust I will find it as I quiet my soul in the midst of the Christmas noise and focus my eyes on Christ. It is a season to celebrate His birth into flesh and His decision to move closer to us as He walked on this earth, a decision that transformed it all as He continues to be in us - Our Great Emmanuel.

Linking with Little R and R and Whole Hearted Home

Walking on Water

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said. Matthew 14: 28-29

There comes a time when we are called by our Lord to “come to Him on the water.” And it is terrifying.

Like Peter, we are afraid, in the middle of a terrible storm, and haven’t we had a chance to get a handle on things, when there we are…climbing outside of our boats, readying our feet to do the humanly impossible…

He calls. He tells us “come” and we must. That is the time when His glory shines as He drives us to the miraculous.

We all have that moment…that walking on water moment...the moment when it is just you and Him. Spectators are certainly standing by, but it is just you and Him on the water. Can you feel it? The trembling of your leg as you swing them one at a time out of the comfort of your little boat. The sweaty palms as you hang on to the edge of that vehicle that has provided your safety so far. The splinters pocking through your skin as you hesitate to let go of the wooden railing. The gentle caress of the water on your bare feet telling you, “there is no way you can stand on it and not sink.” The wind messing up your hair, whispering you will fail.

What do you do then?

There is only one thing…keep your eyes on Him!

Both feet on the water, you begin to stand, your sight fixed on His face. Suddenly, O marvelous surprise! The water does not give. He sustains you from the distance as you take your first step, more like a wobbly glide on water skiis. You slide one foot in front of the other, afraid to lift them off the…water…The eyes of all the people around are on you…Your eyes on Him.

His arm stretched out to you, and only you, for that is your moment with Him. And you walk.

The trick? Keeping your eyes above the waters, off the stormy gale, and glued to His face. The second we look to the side, we begin to sink, panic strikes and our walk is done. It doesn’t matter, though, for He is there. His arm reaches out to us and rescues us in an instant…but O wouldn’t it be wonderful to finish the walk? He knows if we will or not…the end is irrelevant…the important thing is that we did it. We took the step when He called. We walked on water, even if for a fleeting moment.

That glorious walk takes many shapes and forms. Sometimes we sense it coming, others, it comes all of a sudden, but two things are certain, it is always frightening, and He is always there to help us through.

My walk on water is approaching fast. It is going to be me, Him and a pill in an empty room. I’m bracing for it. But I know that He will be there with me. I pray I remember I must keep my eyes on His so I don’t sink. But if I do…He will pull me out, and I will be safe in His arms.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 
“Lord, save me!”

 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. Matthew 14: 29-31

Linking with: Whole Hearted Home and Little R and R

The Struggle

Sometimes, many times, rather, I beat myself up for not doing what is right and falling into the many temptations of life.  Guilt turns into heavy shackles and frustration builds a wall that separates me from the very source of power , strength and grace who can pull me out of the darkness in which I've fallen.  On this past Sunday, however, I heard a message from Romans that brought me great hope.  Tucked in the middle of very mind boggling concepts, in which God's economy of dying in order to be born again shines through, there is a comforting idea that helps my anxious soul find some rest.  The revelation is the fact that the struggles are not ever going to be truly over on this side of paradise.

For some strange reason, hearing the confirmation that struggling is just part of life became a comforting thought.  Knowing that I am not the only one who struggles with my weaknesses helps me continue on the path.  And the Lord knows that we need a constant reminder of such message.  Therefore, He places books in our hands.  He leads us to Sunday school.  He sits us in front of a video series.  He brings a friend closer.  He makes His whispering a bit louder...all with the purpose of reminding us that it is OK.  That we will be OK, and that the good news is, that in the end, we are already victorious in Him!

The message in Romans tells us that we are to "count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus! (Rom 6: 11) What a blessing!  What good news! We are crucified with Christ, dead to sin, and free to follow, know and obey Him!  But Paul doesn't tell us that we are free from the struggle.  He goes on to say that we are NOT to "let sin reign in our mortal body so that we obey its evil desires."  We are NOT to "offer any part of ourselves to sin as an instrument of wickedness."  Instead, we have to "offer ourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of ourselves to Him as an instrument of righteousness."  (Romans 6: 12-13)

If the struggles were over once we are born again in Christ, why would Paul tell us not to let sin reign?  Sin is defeated...death has no power in those who belong to Christ; but we are still in the world, and darkness is all around us, and we are still in our "mortal" bodies.  Our flesh is weak and until we live in this flesh we will continue to fight it.  The thing is that in Christ we have the strength to be in this fight without surrendering.  We have the power of Christ in us as the Holy Spirit dwells inside of our soul and He changes our will so we obey God along the path to becoming instruments of righteousness, rather than falling helplessly in the clutches of sin to be turned into instruments of wickedness.

We are under grace! (Romans 6: 14) And we seek obedience to Him and we are free from the slavery to sin which condemned us to eternal death.  That freedom allows us to choose to offer ourselves as an offering to righteousness which leads to holiness, to be set apart for Him

We are saved/justified; but the process of sanctification is a life-long affair.  In that process, we will stumble and fall since it is a constant battle against our mortal nature.  But we are not the only ones who struggle.  The line of holy fighters in the Bible is truly long.  My favorite is Peter.  Walked with the Lord every day during Jesus' entire ministry on earth.  The Rock! The one who got out of the boat and walked on water with Jesus.  One of the few chosen to see Christ Transfigured! But he still denied Him at a moment of intense weakness.

The hero in Peter's story is not Peter, however.  The hero is Jesus!  It is not what Peter did what restored him.  It is what Christ did.  Peter's heart remained in Jesus, and that's why he wept bitterly.  Humility hit him like a ton of bricks when he realized what he had done.  But Jesus picked him up again and gave him a seat of honor because His grace abounds in those who belong to Him.

We are God's handiwork...His song...His poem...His precious creation.  He will see us through our struggle in this life and He will, in His time, restore us.  In the meantime, we trust and we rest in His care.