ADVENT ~ Day 6

December 4, 2009

Scripture Passage:
READ Psalm 24:7-10

From the time of Adam and Eve's sin, our Father God has been proclaiming the mystery of His gift of salvation, that is found only through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Genesis 3:14-15)

The LORD of hosts, then repeated this mystery of salvation to Abraham, Elijah, Moses, King David, Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, along with many other prophets and faithful servants of the LORD God Most High.

By faith, they all believed God's message of salvation to all people, whether Jew or Gentile. Because they believed God, and put their trust in the One whom they would never see on this side of Heaven, God credited Christ's righteousness to them, so that they too may enter into the fullness of His glorious presence for all eternity in Heaven.

The righteousness of Christ was not credited to them because of mere words, but their lives proved that their trust was in the coming Messiah of God, by the way they lived.

The prophets of old and the faithful servants of God truly lived as if they trusted every word that proceeded out of the mouth of the LORD. And God knew it. The Lord God sees our hearts and is not fooled or moved by words spoken only from fleeting, emotion-driven moments.

He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. He is the Alpha and the Omega; the Prince of Peace; the Lion of the tribe of Judah; the Bright Morning Star; the Good Shepherd; the Bread of Life; the Word of God; the Way, the Truth, and the Life; the High Priest; the Rock of Ages; the Redeemer; the True Vine; the Son of God.

He is Jesus the Christ - the Revealer of the greatest mystery: the miraculous reconciliation of wicked and evil sinners, to a holy and good God.

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made together alive with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him."

~ Colossians 2:13-15

ADVENT ~ Day 3
December 2, 2009

Scripture Passage:
READ Psalm 24:1-6

Who is worthy to approach the LORD? He is Sovereign. He is good. By His might, He created the heavens, the earth and all that it is within it. Time cannot encompass Him. There is nothing in all creation that can overpower Him. He is self-sustaining. He is majestic. He is holy. He is glorious. He is perfect. He is righteous. He is just.

God is so awesome, so brilliant, so holy; and the magnitude of His righteousness is so pure and powerful, that the Bible says no man can see God’s face and live (Exodus 33:20)!

In our Scripture reading today, we find King David, perfectly assessing the level of righteousness a person must possess, in order to approach God, and not die.

“He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”
~ Psalm 24:4

Well, that leaves me out! And not just me, but everyone I’ve ever known or heard of! There is not one person who has lived, is living and will live, that is qualified to fulfill all of God’s righteous requirements in order to be made acceptable, to approach His holy presence – except for the Person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus alone has:

• Clean hands: hands that have never shed innocent blood nor hated anyone in his heart. (Matthew 5:43-48, 1 John 3:15)
• A pure heart: a heart that has never conceived to break God’s Law (the Ten Commandments) or devised evil to lead himself or anyone else into sin. (Proverbs 20:9, Hebrew 4:15)
• Righteous worship: a soul that refuses to give reverence, honor or praise to false gods; instead, worships the LORD God alone, who is the Maker of every soul. (Ecclesiastes 3:11, Matthew 4:8-10)
• Honorable speech: a tongue that faithfully speaks the truth, will not boast, defends the rights of the poor, does not flatter and is full of the wisdom that comes from God. (Psalm 101:7, Isaiah 53:9, 1 Peter 2:22-23)

Our Lord Jesus was born of a virgin, in order to die, so that sinners might be born again, in order to live. He gave us His righteousness, because we had none of our own, for “none is righteous, no, not one.” (Psalm 143:2, Romans 3:10)

Therefore, let us give Christ His due honor and praise as we dedicate our hearts to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And let us not forget what a precious time of Advent God has granted us by cleansing ourselves from the commercialism of Christmas, and fixing our hearts and minds on the reason why we, as Christians, celebrate.

Thoughts to ponder:
Am I living as if I truly believe that I posses the righteousness of Christ? Do I faithfully demonstrate to God, my love and gratitude for my salvation by setting my personal needs, comforts, ideas or even rights aside, so that others may see Jesus in me? If so, how? If not, what will I do today to remedy this situation?

Gracious LORD God in Heaven, with awesome compassion and abounding grace and mercy, You have cleansed my filthy soul of all unrighteousness with the pure blood of Your Son, Jesus the Christ.

Thank You Father for loving me when I was still Your enemy; hating You, by sinning against You. Thank You Jesus for suffering the wrath of God in my stead and imputing to me, Your righteousness, so that I might be made acceptable in the sight of the Father. Thank You Holy Spirit for faithfully sanctifying me by the washing of water with God’s word.

LORD, I commit to You this day, that Your work of salvation will take precedence in my heart, will be kept at the forefront of my mind, and will be the passion of my soul.

Thank You, heavenly Father, for this time of Advent. Help us to remain in a state of reverence, awe-inspired worship and gratitude as we prepare to remember Your Son’s first coming, as well as looking intently and eagerly with all our hearts, minds and souls daily for His second coming. Jesus, may Your name be praised, forever and ever, Amen.

Introduction to Advent

by Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts
Copyright © 2009 by Mark D. Roberts

Advent is a Christian season that lasts for about four weeks. It begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve, thus there is some variation in its length. (If you're unfamiliar with the idea of Christian seasons, you might find helpful a few pieces I've written: "Overview of the Christian Year,""The Colors of the Christian Year," and "The Christian Year and the Textures of Worship." I should mention that Eastern Orthodox Christians do not recognize Advent per se, but have a longer season that is rather like Advent. Their Nativity Fast begins in the middle of November and is a season for repentance and abstinence.

In our secular American celebration of Christmas, the Christmas season (or Holiday season, ugh) begins in the weeks prior to Christmas Day. Generally, this season starts in early December, though retailers have a bad habit of beginning Christmas in November (or even October). A couple of weeks ago, for example, I shopped in a J.C. Penney department store that was fully decked out for Christmas and was playing Christmas music non-stop while I shopped. Shame on them! In my rule book, you shouldn't listen to Christmas music or turn on Christmas lights until after you've finished the Thanksgiving turkey . . . at the earliest.


What is Advent?

The Christian season of Christmas actually begins on Christmas Eve and lasts for twelve days, ending on January 6. (No, the twelve-day season of Christmas did not start with the song. It was the other way around.) The time before Christmas is Advent, a season of preparation for Christmas. Christians prepare for celebrating the birth of Jesus by remembering the longing of the Jews for a Messiah. In Advent we're reminded of how much we also need a Savior, and we look forward to our Savior's second coming even as we prepare to celebrate his first coming at Christmas. Indeed, the word Advent comes from the Latin word that means "coming" or "visit." In the season with this name, we keep in mind both "advents" of Christ, the first in Bethlehem and the second yet to come.

If you're unfamiliar with Advent, I expect it might feel odd to think of the weeks before Christmas as something more than Christmastime. For most of my life, Advent played very little role in my pre-Christmas consciousness. As a child, I did have Advent calendars, sturdy, decorative paper displays with 25 little "windows," one of which I would open each day of December leading up to Christmas. My Advent calendar was a way to whet my appetite for Christmas, not that I needed much help to get ready for my favorite day of the year, mind you. I loved Christmas when I was young, partly because it celebrated the birth of Jesus, but mostly because it was a giant party in which I received lots of presents. In a sense, the Christian observance is a bit like my boyhood Advent calendars, though it has a much more serious purpose. It's meant to get us ready, not for a present-opening party, but for a transformational celebration of the birth of Jesus.


What Colors Are Used in Advent?

There are a few other things about Advent that you might find odd if you're unfamiliar with them. The strangest might be the Advent color scheme. We associate Christmas and the weeks leading up to it with typical Christmas colors: red, green, white, silver, and gold. Advent, on the other hand, features purple (or dark blue) and pink. The purple/blue color signifies seriousness, repentance, and royalty. Pink points to the minor theme of Advent, which is joy. The first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent are "purple/blue" Sundays. Only the third is a "pink" Sunday. The pink, joyful color reminds us that, even as Advent helps us get in touch with our sober yearning for God to come to us, we know that he did in fact come in the person of Jesus. Thus our minor-themed waiting has a grace note of joy mixed in. If you've seen a traditionally-colored Advent wreath will recognize the purple and pink colors of this season (with the central, white, Christ-candle for Christmas Eve/Day). But if you're unfamiliar with Advent and happen to attend a church service in early December in a church that recognizes Advent, you might be startled to see lots of purple, a bit of pink, and no red or green. (Many churches combine the colors of Advent and Christmas, however, so visitors won't be completely perplexed.)










Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, December 2 2009, I will begin posting Advent devotionals until Christmas Eve.

Please join me and invite others, as we daily prepare our hearts, minds, souls and strength in devotion to  remember, honor, and worship the First Coming of the King of kings and the Lord of lords, our Master and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

Christian Advent holiday web theme set courtesy of Crystal Cloud Graphics.

...I'm still here

...still worshiping our Savior

...still seeking the Holy Spirit's counsel

...and still exalting the name of the LORD God Almighty for His faithfulness!

I know I haven't updated everyone in a long time, but I really didn't feel that it was right to do so without first answering a very important question from one of my readers. And since I've been so ill, my mind has not been what it once used to be and I have so much "brain-fog" and trouble making sense of most things, I had been unable to respond to her, and was only able to post my response just last week.

So, here's a quick update for those of you who have asked....and just so you know, I truly covet all your prayers, your encouraging comments and emails. You are all such beautiful blessings from God to me.

The latest is that my blood is still having trouble keeping B12 in my system and no one knows why. So I still take shots (my darling husband gives them to me because I had to have them so often). My Gastroenterologist recently referred me to my 4th. Hematologist at UT Southwestern. UT Southwestern is like the Mayo Clinic of Texas and everyone there has been very good to me. I have to be honest, I've really been more impressed and received better care at UT Southwestern, than from the medical staff at the Mayo Clinic.

I get my blood checked again this Wednesday to see if I'm finally holding B12, and if my MMA (methylmalonic acid) and B12 levels are still in the normal range. If they are, then I can wait a whole FOUR weeks before I have to get my blood checked again....AND before I have to get another shot! Isn't God SO good?! I am pretty sure this is the news I will get, so I am pretty excited about my blood test on Wednesday...and this is not something I often say. If all goes well, I'll finally be cleared to have B12 shots only once a month for life. Isn't that such GREAT news?!

Both my Hematologist and Gastroenterlogist said that I needed to have a procedure done that was mentioned when I was hospitalized in June, then again at release and also at the Mayo Clinic. So, it was scheduled for last Tuesday and we should get the results back sometime this week. The procedure is called a Capsule Endoscopy. It's basically a horse pill with a camera in it. I swallow the pill and wear a computer thingy around me all day while the camera works it's way through my digestive tract, taking pictures and loading it onto the computer I'm wearing. So, that was interesting...to say the least.

While all this has been going on, I had to go see my Neurologist again and get another MRI due to constantly progressing, severe back pain, as well as pain going all the way down my left leg to my foot and also down my right leg, just to my knee. I've never really quite gotten much relief since finding out nearly two years ago (March 2008) that I had two slipped discs and one that was herniated. I went to PT (physical therapy) for 6 weeks last year, was put on steroids for the inflammation, but still had severe pain all the time, even though I continued my PT exercises.

I got an MRI just a few weeks ago and found that I now have degenerative disc disease (which really isn't a disease at all, just a condition where several of my discs are dehydrated). We also found out that I now have two herniate discs, instead of one and one of them (the same one they found last year that never healed, but got worse) has a VERY small BENIGN tumor on it. It's smaller than 2 mm. I'm not even sure how they saw that tiny little thing. The GREAT news is that it's not the kind that will ever get cancerous, so there's nothing to worry about except if it gets bigger and gets in the way of something, but if that's as bad as it gets...I think is not really a big deal.

So now I go to PT and Spinal Decompression Therapy Monday through Thursday for a couple of hours. Hopefully, I'll only need to do this for a total of 20 sessions. And who knows, God may choose to heal me sooner!

Through all this, the LORD our God continues to show me how incredibly merciful, kind and abundantly gracious and compassionate He is! He is truly faithful, even when we are faithless; for He can not deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13).

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD! And for everything God takes away, He also provides blessings elsewhere, sometimes tangible and sometimes intangible; if we don't see it, it isn't because God hasn't provided, it's because we're missing it by focusing too much on self and too little on His magnificence.

Our Father God has been so gracious to teach me the way of His precepts and counsel me with His testimonies, that this extended time of physical "illness/weakness" has been such a blessed time of spiritual healing/strengthening. God alone can do such GREAT and AWESOME things! Hallelujah to our blessed Savior, Christ Jesus our Lord! May each of God's childrens' lives bring Him the utmost glory, honor and praise! May the name of Jesus be exalted forever and ever! Hallelujah!