Monthly Archives: November 2024

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Advent Reflection

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And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. Luke 2:1-7

The week leading up to Jesus’s birth was not exactly smooth sailing. His mother Mary and her fiancé Joseph get word that Rome is requiring a census for taxation purposes which, in turn, requires them to travel back to the place of Joseph’s ancestry in order to register–Bethlehem. The trek from their current home in Nazareth all the way to Bethlehem is some 90 miles, and Mary, who is well into her third trimester, gets to do this journey…on a donkey. Pretty much upon their arrival it comes time for Jesus’s arrival. Great timing. Not only that, but there are apparently no guest rooms available anywhere in the vicinity, so she gets to give birth out in the barn area with the animals.

And yet…

Look what came of this not so extravagant event. Look who came from these not very ideal conditions. Only the Person who has changed more lives for the better than all other humans combined.

Isn’t this the way life, and God, work much of the time? Bringing something wonderful out of something so difficult and seemingly pointless? Commentator Luke Timothy Johnson points out that, “Nothing very glorious is suggested by the circumstances of the Messiah’s birth. But that is Luke’s manner, to show how God’s fidelity is worked out in human events when appearances seem to deny his presence or power.“

It was not ideal for Mary and Joseph to travel such a distance for a census required by Rome. It was not ideal to give birth so far from home and family. It was not ideal to lay their baby down in a feeding trough in the barnyard area.

And yet…

Immeasurable good.

It’s almost as if God purposefully chose to bring Jesus into the world under an oppressive occupying government just to show the world that He can bring the greatest gift out of the most horrific human circumstances. Have you ever gone through something terrible only to come out the other side with a new and rewarding friendship?

As the magnet on our refrigerator says, “Life is what happens while you are making other plans.” Much goes the way we would rather it not, but God, who is pure Love, will see to it that your ultimate good will be brought forth from even the worst of experiences as we remain faithful. This does not necessarily mean that God likes every single thing that has happened to you. But He asks for your trust that He will take care of you in the end; that He can and will bring good from ill. I am here reminded of Brennan Manning who always preached that he believed upon meeting God after death He would ask us one question: “Did you believe that I loved you?”

Powerful question indeed.

I have come to experience and know a few foundational truths that I hope you can take away from this reflection. God has loved you for billions of years already–which I find unexplainably comforting. God only wants what is best for you and will bring it about no matter how badly things have gone in the past or how awful circumstances look at present. For God, who knows what is best for you better than you do and who is also perfect love embodied, is ultimately in control. No human has authority over your destiny, in this life or the next.

Always remember that God uses even the twisted decisions and actions of highly imperfect human beings to bring about divine goodness. God can take unfavorable circumstances beyond your control and mill them into glorious blessing.

Daily Meditations

Queen of Sheba

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The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.  ~Matthew 12:42 [New Living Translation]

Let’s talk about the Queen of Sheba. My first reaction to this passage was, “So the Queen of Sheba is gonna rise from the dead in the final judgment to pass sentence upon these people Jesus is talking to, along with all their buddies who refused to listen to Him??”

In a nutshell: YES!

Context: Jesus is having a conversation with some Pharisees and Scribes, and in their hostile skepticism they ask for some sort of sign to prove Himself. Now “Jesus was a man with an incisive perception of what was transpiring in the human heart”, as Michael Casey puts it (see John 2:24). He knew that one sign is rarely enough for people; they always want more, bigger, flashier. It’s not like Jesus hadn’t done miraculous wonders right in front of them already! So Jesus is like, “Look, the only sign you’re gonna get is the sign of Jonah.” By this He was referring to His upcoming time in the grave followed by His resurrection, just as Jonah was in the fish for a few days then spit out. He then tells His accusers that the Ninevites of Jonah’s day are going to rise up at the last judgment and condemn this generation since the Ninevites repented at Jonah’s preaching. Not only that, but the Queen of Sheba will also rise up at the last judgment to condemn them because she came from the ends of the earth just to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And now someone waaaay greater than Jonah or Solomon is here, performing amazing, life-changing acts in their midst, and they’re not even close to believing in Him. In fact they’re trying to get rid of Him!

Who is this Queen of Sheba Jesus is referring to? Well, her story is found in 1 Kings 10:1-13. Basically, as Jesus said, she heard about the wisdom of Solomon and his Lord from afar, and actually made the very long and no doubt arduous trek from the south to come witness it for herself. She brought Solomon tons of exquisite gifts, he returned the favor, then she went back home. 

Jesus smacks these religious people in the face with the fact that this queen (a Gentile no less) simply heard about Solomon and his God from a distance, and then responsively took physical action, action which could have cost her dearly, for travel was no cakewalk in those days. But these religious people have someone far greater before them, the One who can give them abundant life, yet they miss Him. They miss the opportunity of a lifetime. Of eternity. Therefore, the ones who did seize the opportunity when it was presented to them will be their judges.

I found a comment on this passage by someone named D.A. Hagner that states well the message here: “There is in principle nothing wrong with a desire for a sign from God. The request for a sign only becomes unjustified and intrinsically wrong when one is already surrounded by good and sufficient evidence one chooses not to accept. In that case, unreceptivity and unbelief are the root problem, and it is unlikely that any sign would be sufficient to change such a person’s mind.” 

And then as far as application, my guy William Barclay pointed out that the Pharisees and scribes “were guilty of one fundamental mistake. They desired to see God in the abnormal; they forgot that we are never nearer God, and God never shows himself to us so much and so continually as in the ordinary things of every day.” BOOM. That’s it. I think that is the application point to drive home here. Or at least a significant one.

Consider how Brother Lawrence [1611-1691] was converted by simply observing trees and contemplating the miracle of how they die and come back to life year after year. He was blown away by this when he sat with it for a few minutes, realizing that there is Someone behind it all, Someone beautiful and powerful as all get out.

Do not make the grave mistake of demanding a ridiculous sign of the proof of God to the point of overlooking the miraculous everyday pointers to our benevolent and awesome Creator.

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Carrying Legos

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After the earthquake a fire, but Adonai was not in the fire. After the fire there was a soft whisper of a voice. ~I Kings 19:12 [Tree of Life version]

Let’s say for some interesting reason you needed to transport about 200 Lego pieces to your neighbor across the street. Now trying to carry them all in your arms without dropping one, or twenty, would not only be somewhat stressful, but downright near impossible. But, if you put all the pieces in a box to take over, it would be a thousand times more doable, and much less effort on your part, because you would simply be focused on one task, holding the box, as opposed to desperately trying to keep 200 different items from slipping through your precarious grasp.

This is how it feels when we attempt to juggle too many tasks under the self-imposed pressure of our own efforts. We impossibly try to concentrate on a ridiculous number of responsibilities, all the while worrying that we’re going to drop the ball on one of them because everything in life hangs on our own ability, capacity, and skill set.

But the Kingdom mindset is much different. There is just one effort that matters, and that is following the gentle, affirming voice of the Holy Spirit always guiding us lovingly and clearly-if only we are able to quiet ourselves enough to hear that Divine whisper. This is the “box” for our Legos. We still have tasks given to us, but this is a much more effective way to carry them out.

“Performing for an Audience of One” simplifies efforts and gives a peace which does indeed surpass our mere human comprehension, for all of our scatteredness is brought into a concentrated holy focus on the one Word and approval which matters so much that all other foci are swallowed up in its satisfying goodness.

If you have a lot you’re trying to carry, put it in a box.