“Because of and through the heart of tender mercy and loving-kindness of our God, a Light from on high will dawn upon us and visit us. To shine upon and give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct and guide our feet in a straight line into the way of peace."—Luke 1:78-79, Amplified Classic
For all who believe, Zechariah’s prophetic word—one that was experienced in a jaw-dropping way by shepherds on a hillside near Bethlehem—has been the story of our lives, too. One day, an incredibly glorious Light exploded through our darkness, and while at first half in shock-and-awe and half in wonder, we knew we would never be the same again. And thus, the incredible Journey began, with a lot of hills and detours and open manhole covers but with even more amazingly peaceful vistas of the Big Picture when the small things of life start crowding in, and of Hope over every horizon, direction without Siri, and an indescribable love for the One who created it all and us and everyone.
Today is a day to pause at the manger (or, maybe visit it for the first time) not just out of tradition but to inhale deeply and absorb afresh Zechariah’s prophecy about Jesus, about why He came, and about us journeying in and with Him. For some, perhaps a glorious Light will explode on the scene. And for all who believe, a reason to celebrate with great joy that the Greatest Story ever told goes on and on, even turning the page from 2017 to 2018, “to direct and guide our feet in a straight line into the way of peace.” So be it, LORD.
From my home to yours: An illustrated 2017 'Vitamin' rewind for remembering God's incredible faithfulness to us in every season...yesterday, today, and forever:
JANUARY
No doubt, within all of us is a longing to be noticed, to be appreciated for who we are and how God uniquely created us. And God, in His great goodness and kindness, often brings people into our lives—even if just one or two—who are there to cheer us on when we need it most. But in the economy of the Kingdom, it seems that God’s preferred currency is this: “Not you but rather I AM through you, and the things that bring you pleasure for My glory may seem small and unnoticed, but they bring Me pleasure because that's how I created you. Your love expressed is seen by Me and can be used as a life-changing sermon in someone’s life. You have no idea. So, don't hold back; whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in My Name, and I can multiply it before your very eyes, or even in a time and place you may never see.”—From “Feeling His Pleasure"
FEBRUARY
Nowhere in the Gospels does Jesus say, "Admire Me," but rather "follow Me"... in all of its definitions. But also, nowhere does He raise the bar so high on us and say "good luck with that," but rather points back to His Father's words of promise given through the psalmist: "If you are right with God, He strengthens you for the journey; the Eternal God will be pleased with your life, and even though you trip up, you will not fall on your face because He holds you by the hand." (Psalm 37:23-24, The Voice)—From “This is Really Good”
MARCH
Just remember, you often won't realize you're making progress on the Journey until you pause to look back at how far you've come. With Me.—From “Parable from the Trail”
APRIL
“Stop glorifying busy.” It’s good to remember that the very first Church that ever was, even in its rather unorganized state, got that. It was filled with people who had demanding jobs and farms and fishing businesses and families. They undoubtedly had their own seasons of life-imposed “busy,” but they did seem to have a handle on simplicity in the midst of it all. Rather than adding more gotta-do-its to “do” church, they seemed to reorientate their normally busy lives to simply “be” church in the regular rhythms of their daily life—to and among one another, and supernaturally influencing their communities as a result.—From “The Simply Amazing Acts of Being Church”
MAY
Sometimes, quite often really, you have to remind yourself that the moment you said "I believe!" and stepped into that beautiful, never-ending Kingdom, you became Royal family; and because of that, you will always have a place at the greatest banqueting table of them all. Always. No matter what kind of day, week, or past 30 minutes it's been, now that you are His and He is yours, God won't love you and me any more or any less according to our performance to try to earn that seat at His table. Or His lap. Or His grip. Because just as we were saved by God's grace alone, and not by anything we could ever do, or think of, or scheme to earn it, so it is with our mind-blowing identity as an adopted son or daughter of the King of the universe.
God set this truth in place before anyone thought it was a good idea: Family love can't be earned. It just is.—From “A Royal Piece of Work”
JUNE
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."—Romans 15:13, NIV
Hope that is not wishful thinking but trust and expectancy in the only One with a perfect resume;
Hope that becomes as real and as close as your next breath.
The perfect theme song for this wonderful, sometimes-crazy Journey, the kind that is good to have stuck in your head.
A hope that restores...well yeah, joy!
Over and over again.—From “Theme Music”
JULY
"Life is crazy, and time is precious. But everyone's got five minutes to chill...
Five minutes on the commute with no music, no talk radio
Five minutes to pause at the smooth-as-glass stream instead of walking on by
Five minutes to get up from your deadline, step outside, and breathe deeply
Five minutes while the kids are outside playing
Five minutes without earbuds, and phone-checking, and social media, and...
Five minutes...to be filled with simply being thankful for all that God has done for you and is to you. Which, invariably, can lead to a lot more than five minutes. —From “Remembering the Five-Minute Rule”
AUGUST
...we can heed Jesus' words by countering the tidal wave of negativity with a slowly-building and ultimately more powerful one—a wave that celebrates the far-surpassing acts of goodness and Light in our world, that salts the disease with words from tongues that go out of their way to see and speak goodness in others, that respects others whose opinions are different from ours, that doesn't get sucked into an online yelling match*, that decries every form of evil and hatred simply because Jesus' most prominent command is "Love one another," and that chooses to cut off gossip with the fruit of lips that give thanks instead of criticism.
Lord, release the good "weapons" within us this week, and may they be contagious—From “When Waves Collide”
SEPTEMBER
Today, whether at church or a soccer field, or someplace that life has carried us, it's a good time to remember (maybe for the gazillionth time), that for every "God, where are You?" there will always be this goodness reply: "I'm right here."
That even if I feel distant, I can know that He is not. That whenever I am fearful or unsettled, even in an unexplained way, I can know that He is not. That when caught up in going through the motions and thinking "there's got to be more than this," His answer will always be: "There is. Come and see.”—From “I’m Right Here”
OCTOBER
The Divine intent is never to worship nature, no matter how much we love it. But we can love it full-on because nature is God’s 24/7 navigator to the One who is worthy of all worship with heart, soul, mind, and strength. He speaks to me, to us, about Himself, everywhere, every season.
Even on this dark, late fall morning, there is the sound of rain, and with it, a reminder to soak in His presence this new day and seek to be fruitful—not just a hearer of good Words. And, that I can rest in God’s power behind it all to pull off whatever He wants done, even if and when I get broadsided….—From “What the Forest Knows”
NOVEMBER
Worship, the kind that is lived full-on because you know that you know deep down inside that it's in Christ alone "we live and move and have our being," can't be contained because God can't be contained. Which means that extravagant worship can't be contained in 20 minutes of inspired singing, or relegated to only those who sing or play an instrument, or who do so the loudest, or who have no problem expressing themselves to God. In fact, as Jonathan and the woman with the alabaster jar prove, music isn't even required.—From “Embracing the Craziness”
DECEMBER
This time of year, life is good, or life is full, life is stressful, life is uncertain, life is nuts, life is painful right now, life is speeding by quickly. No matter how we come back to the manger, it is first good to know that there is always room for each one of us, and better still to know that because of His birth, life, and resurrection, none is ever alone, and that there will never be a period at the end of the Nativity story. …God with us, 24/7….—From “The Extraordinary Season”
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, an abundant experience of the glorious Light for the next leg of the incredible Journey…
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