No longer alone....

‘Advent, it becomes a time of self-examination.
“Put the desires of your heart in order, O human beings!” as the old song sings….
God wants us to always be with us, wherever we may be — in our sin, in our suffering and death.
We are no longer alone; God is with us.
We are no longer homeless; a bit of the eternal home has moved into us.
Therefore we adults can rejoice deeply within our hearts under the Christmas tree, perhaps more than children are able….
We know that God’s goodness will once again draw near. We think of all of God’s goodness that came our way last year and sense something of the marvelous home. Jesus comes… “Behold I stand at the door …. Open wide the gates.” (Ps. 24:7). One day, at the last judgement, he will separate the sheep and the goats and will say to those on his right: “Come, you blessed… I was hungry and you fed me…. ” (Mt 25:34)
To the astonished question of when and where, he answered, “What you did to the least of these, you have done to me….” (Mt 25:40). With that we are faced with the shocking reality: Jesus stands at the door and knocks, in complete reality. He asks you for help in the form of a beggar, in the form of a ruined human being in torn clothing.
He confronts you in every person you meet.
Christ walks on the earth as your neighbor as long as there are people.
He walks on the earth as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you and makes His demands. That is the great seriousness and the great blessedness of the Advent message.
Christ stands at the door.
He lives in the form of the person in our midst.
Will you keep the door locked or open it to him?
Christ is still knocking.
It is not yet Christmas.
But it is also not the great final Advent, the final coming of Christ. Through all the Advents of our life that we celebrate goes the longing for the final Advent, where it says, “Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev. 21:15).
Advent is a time of waiting. Our whole life, however, is Advent….
That is, a time of waiting for the ultimate, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.
When all people are brothers and sisters.

And one rejoices in the words of the angels:

‘On earth, peace…' "

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

How often do I forget that Christ, He does indeed walk on the Earth as my neighbor. That He confronts me in every person I meet.  The man with a sign outside of Costco, the people  wrapped in too thin sleeping bags under the overpass. The woman confined to her home because she can barely move anymore.  The girl with scars all over her arms and legs from trying to let the pain escape, the boy with teeth yellow from nicotine. These people, they don't have it all together. And yet Christ said,
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me.'
 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. (Matthew 25: 34-40, 42-45)

The people he mentions are the ones so full of pain, so broken. They are where He confronts us, face to face.
 "What are you going to do? Because ignorance is no longer an option."
It isn't. Waiting, then, for it all to become new. But fighting, to help this broken world. That is what we are here for. That is what Christ, 2,000 years ago was here for.  We are no longer alone in this fight. The tiny baby ensured that. So we fight all the harder.

Love:)

R

For this is the whole duty of man.....

On the final day I die
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell You that I tried
To live it like a song

And when I reach the other side
I want to look You in the eye
And know that I've arrived
In a world where I belong
Where I belong
 (From Where I Belong by Switchfoot)

In my small group the other day we got asked what we wanted people to remember about us, what impression we wanted to leave when we died, ,what we wanted remembered as the purpose of our life. A very good question.
 I love how Switchfoot puts it.
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell You that I tried
To live it like a song

What, though, does God say our purpose is? Why are we put on this messed-up earth?

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

I think that just about sums it up. We are here to worship and glorify God, and whether we do that by impacting thousands like Mother Teresa, or living in a hospital room, that is our duty. Martin Luther King once said:

 "And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. don't just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better.

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. "

See, here's the thing. God Almighty did call you to this particular moment in history, put you here to do what He wanted you to do. So fear God and keep His commands in whatever you do .....If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry....
 Worship God in how you live your life. In doing everything, whether it is helping at a soup kitchen or doing your geometry homework.

 Fulfill your purpose, so that when people remember you they will say
  "She had a purpose in life, and she wasn't afraid to fulfill it."  So if you become a street sweeper, they will say "Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. "

Live your life. You were created with a purpose for this time, and this place. it is up to you whether or not you step up to the challenge of having a purpose and a meaning in life. I hope you chose to step up.  So let me ask you.  What do you want remembered as the purpose of your life? I hope you can live it like a song.

Love:)
R

Beauty: Redifined

The lie.
The lie is huge.
"You aren't beautiful. You are too fat, too skinny. Too tall, too short." On and on and on.The voices surround you........and you listen. I do. I do, and I shouldn't.

I'm not going to tell you that it doesn't matter. Because you won't listen. And, besides, it's not okay to tell you that it's okay that you're not good enough. Beacuse you are good enough!
   Our culture has this idea of beauty. We define beauty in a certain way, and we have this mental checklist that we go through, trying to check it all off.
  Here's the thing. You can't measure up. No matter how hard you try, as long as you're going through this checklist, you'll never make it. No one will.
 Here's what I'm going to ask you to do.

Redefine your idea of beauty.

Because, see, beauty is relative. Our definition and ideas of beauty are dependent on outside ideas of culture and time and place.
 Here's what I'm saying. God made you beautiful. Weather or not you fit your specific cultures definition of beauty, it doesn't matter to Him.  His definition of beauty is way different than yours . He looks at you living a life honoring to Him, and sees beauty. He looks at the way you serve. Who you are.

How beautiful upon the mountains
   are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
   who publishes salvation,
   who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." (Isaiah 52:7)

  This person probably doesn't have pedicure-model feet. But their feet are beautiful because they are fulfilling the purpose the were made for. They are consistent with the design of their creator.
 That is what makes them beautiful.

When you fulfill your purpose, that is beautiful.

Not only that- you are beautiful inside and out because you are created in the image of the Living God. You are created to be like Him- you are beautiful because you are His handiwork! No one denys the beauty of natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon, or Mount Everest- but you are far morr important to God! Far more Loved. You are so beautiful! You are the beautiful workmanship of your God.
 When you're tempted to believe the lie this week, remember who you are.


Love:)
R

Ps: If you want more on this topictalk to me,or  read Uncompromising, by Hannah Farver. She is an amazing young women who is truly in love with her Savior.  Look it up! :) R