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Category Archives: Advent 2024

Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 15

15 Dec

10 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

John 10:1-10

Dear God, okay, I just noticed something. In this parable, Jesus didn’t set himself up as the shepherd or even the gate keeper. He is the gate. He goes on in the next paragraph to say that he is the Good Shepherd, but you and he are one. For the purposes of this parable, at least the way I am reading this passage this morning, Jesus is the gate through which the people go to you, the Father, as their shepherd. Of course, as being one in nature with you, he is the Good Shepherd as well, but the critical role Jesus plays is he is the gate. There is a wall that keeps me from you. There is a wall that Satan uses to get to me. To get to us. But you are good. You are the Good Shepherd, and Jesus provides you a gate to get to us and then us the use of the gate to follow you.

Now, my job is to hear your voice while your purpose is to us a rich and satisfying life. And how do we get that rich and satisfying life? This short life that is so insignificant in comparison with the tens of billions of people who have come before me? Well, it’s to simply lay it before you, be used by you as best as I can, and then get out of history’s way. To let you live through me. Address the problems of a broken world through me.

Father, I consider my life worth nothing to me. If only I am finish the race and complete the task you have given to me. The task of testifying to your grace. Help me to do that today. Help me to do it with my wife and everyone else I encounter today. I love you, Father. I love you, Jesus. I love you, Holy Spirit. I love you, my Triune God. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 15, 2024 in Advent 2024, John

 

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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 14

14 Dec

6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.

Hebrews 8:6

Dear God, the author of Hebrews uses an interesting description of Jesus here. It’s as one of “mediator.” You and Jesus are one, along with your Holy Spirit. So if I had been writing Hebrews (which I would NOT be qualified to do) I don’t think I would have used that description because it makes it sound like you had to be negotiated into it. We had an old contract that wasn’t working. We needed a new contract, but you were a reluctant part and we needed Jesus to negotiate with you. That just feels like an odd way to put it.

I think it’s important to see what the Hebrews author wrote after this in verses 7-13:

7 If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. 8 But when God found fault with the people, he said:

“The day is coming, says the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant
    with the people of Israel and Judah.
9 This covenant will not be like the one
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.
10 But this is the new covenant I will make
    with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds,
    and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
    nor will they need to teach their relatives,
    saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
    will know me already.
12 And I will forgive their wickedness,
    and I will never again remember their sins.”

13 When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

He is referencing Jeremiah 31 here, and it’s such a beautiful sentiment. The picture is of you bending over backwards and doing everything you can to love us. To have relationship with us. To draw us to yourself.

Where does your benevolence end? I don’t know. What is the cut line between having eternal life with you and not having it? I don’t know. This passage makes it feel very broad. More broad, in fact, than I would have imagined. It sounds like you really made it beyond limits through Jesus. If that is true, that is amazing. The thing that catches me is that Jesus had so many parables about a sorting that will happen at the end of the age. So I do think that, to some extent, there will be a sorting, but I have a feeling you are taking a lot of things into account at that time.

I was thinking recently about some friends who are not followers of you, but they also have some extreme hurts from earlier in their lives that put a wedge between them and you. Those traumas pushed them towards different paths. I know in my own love for my children, I have a deep love for and longing to be in relationship with them even in times when they do not want me due to some hurt I may or not have been responsible for. But nothing pushes them out of the realm of my love. How much more so then are you willing to love me beyond the acting out in pain that I do.

Father, thank you for Jesus the High Priest. Jesus, thank you. Thank you for mediating a deal that is so gracious towards me. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for loving me and being here with me in this moment. I pray that you will wrap me up today as I go out and deliver gifts for Toys for Tots. Love the children through me. Love their parents through me. Be glorified through me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 14, 2024 in Advent 2024, Hebrews

 

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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 13

13 Dec

25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,

29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
    as you have promised.
30 I have seen your salvation,
31     which you have prepared for all people.
32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
    and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

33 Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

Luke 2:25-35

Dear God, this isn’t actually the the verse from Piper’s book for today. He used the same verses as yesterday (Hebrews 8:1-2), so I decided to break from his pattern and spend a little time with Simeon this morning.

If Simeon were here right now my question to him would be, “Simeon, what did you know and when did you know it?” He is the first person to give Mary and Joseph any bad news about this baby. Until now, it’s all been wonderous and awesome, but he is seemingly the only person who can see that this isn’t a Make Israel Great Again situation. This baby won’t be about getting rid of Rome. He will cause many in Israel to fall while others rise (last shall be first?). He will be a sign from God that many will oppose. He will reveal the thoughts and hearts of the people. And Mary’s soul will be pierced.

Interestingly, when Anna comes up while Simeon is talking she gets all excited and starts telling everyone, and the description Luke gives us about the people’s mindset is that were waiting for you to come and rescue Jerusalem. The people were looking for a physical savior. Zechariah and Elizabeth were looking for a physical savior. Mary and Joseph were expecting a physical savior. The shepherds were thinking they wanted a physical savior. But it was Simeon who had a level of relationship with you that went beyond what had been taught about the Messiah coming to return Israel to its physical glory among the nations. You whispered something different into his heart, and he had ears to hear and eyes to see. He probably didn’t completely understand this, but it made enough of an impression upon Mary that she remembered it and held onto it later when things started not going how she expected them to during Jesus’s ministry, death, and resurrection. As her soul was pierced by both Jesus’s death and then his ascension.

Father, give me ears to hear. Give me eyes to see. Help me to look beyond the preconceived notions I have either been taught or developed on my own. Help me to see through the lies and temptations that Satan lays in front of me. Help me to see what you need me to see. I know I cannot see or understand everything you are doing. When I don’t understand, help me to let go and simply trust in you. And I’ll say that I’ve been experiencing some success in certain areas recently, but I know you are the author of that success. Thank you. Really, Father, thank you. And for my sorrows that are always present, I trust you in them.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 13, 2024 in Advent 2024, Luke

 

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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 11

13 Dec

14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. 17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

Hebrews 2:14-18

Dear God, when I read this passage last night before I went to bed, I couldn’t help but think about the difference in perspective and knowledge the author of Hebrews had versus all of the characters we’ve read about so far in Matthew 1 and Luke 1 and 2. It’s a little like the movie Casablanca. It’s one thing to watch that movie when it came out–late1942–not knowing how World War II would end. Not knowing about D-Day, VE-Day or VJ-Day. Not knowing how Hitler would meet his end. The writers, director, actors, and crew making that movie had no idea what was going to happen. The audience going to the theater to see it for the first time had no idea what would happen. Their experience watching that movie is completely different from mine. I simply know things they couldn’t know. That no one could understand and appreciate until after Jesus’s resurrection, 40 days, and ascension. From Zechariah and Elizabeth, to Mary and Joseph, to the magi and Herod, they all thought he was going to be a king to free them. Maybe Simeon was the only one who knew something different was up (see Luke 2:34-35).

So going back to this passage, by the time this was written they were getting this thing figured out. Jesus didn’t come to wage a battle against flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities of this world (Ephesians 6:12). He came to make sure the Gentiles got grafted into the Kingdom too (Acts 10-11). It was all about putting a descendant of David (your son) on the ultimate throne forever, not some earthly, temporary throne.

Father, I just want to, once again, say thank you. Thank you for all of this. Thank you for being so much bigger than I can imagine. Thank you for loving so much more richly than you have to. Thank you for being so good in your nature that the closer I get to you the “good-er” I feel myself becoming. And when I say “good-er,” I mean less selfish, more faithful, and more loving to those around me. If that’s what I get when I get close to you, then you must be good as well. So thank you for all of this. I love you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 13, 2024 in Advent 2024, Hebrews

 

Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 12

12 Dec

8 Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. 2 There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.

Hebrews 8:1-2

Dear God, I found out this morning (and it’s 6:00am now, so when I say, “morning,” I mean about an hour ago) that the topic I’m supposed to speak on at our community’s Church-to-Church Christmas Walk next week is “longing.” I had thought I was speaking on “celebration,” so now I need to shift gears a bit. Longing… Longing…

When I look at this passage and think about yesterday’s passage, I am reminded once again that the people before Jesus’s death and resurrection just had no idea of what was going on. No frame of reference. As I sit here and think about what I might say, what is coming to mind is this outline. I pray that this is from your Holy Spirit. I want to do my small part well:

  • Casablanca ignorance compared with the Jewish ignorance in the years between the Babylonian exile and Jesus.
  • They were longing to be freed from Rome. They were longing for Israel to be powerful again. To be a world leader. They were longing for a Messiah who would lead them there.
  • Jesus was offered every opportunity to be the Messiah they wanted, starting with the temptations Jesus experience with Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:8-10). But every time they tried to fit him into that mold he disappeared.
  • What Jesus offered was reconciliation of both the Jewish and Gentile soul to you. Jesus showed us your heart for us. He showed us what it could look like if loved others selflessly. Outside of getting away by himself to pray to you and spend time with you (which was obeying the most important commandment), Jesus did nothing for himself.
  • Hope: When I look at the world, what gives me hope? The hope that I have is that all of us, every single one of us, has a piece of our heart that longs for you. We find a lot of idols to try to meet that need. It might be human love, sex, drugs, work, food, accomplishment, accumulation of wealth, power and influence, etc. We have all of these things that we will look to that will make us feel important and our lives are worth living. And that the mistakes–the sins we commit–are okay. We want meaning. We want absolution. What we end up finding is a distraction that gets us to the end of life with no peace. But if we find you, we find peace. If we repent to you, we find absolution. If we worship and serve you we can simultaneously see we are on 1/6-billionth of the earth’s current population, but we are serving the God of all of it, we are loved by Him, and we doing our small part to be who he needs us to be. And when we fail we have a loving, forgiving God who forgives us and redeems our mistakes. When we are wounded, we have a God who heals our hearts.

Going back to this passage, you gave us a high priest in heaven. And here we are, all of us longing but only a few of us having our thirst quenched. And that doesn’t mean that those who find you don’t mourn. In fact, the mourning are blessed because they are comforted. It doesn’t mean they aren’t pour in spirit or in riches. It doesn’t mean they aren’t persecuted. Jesus made that clear. But relationship with you is the answer to our longing. Not power. Not glory. Not money. What will we do to avail ourselves of that relationship that is available to us? Will this Christmas be a chance for me to encourage others to find you and maybe help at least one person use that moment to count the cost, lay down their life, take up your cross, and follow you? As for myself, I pray that you help me to continue to evolve into the man you need me to be.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 12, 2024 in Advent 2024, Hebrews

 

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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 10

10 Dec

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

Matthew 2:10-11

Dear God, when I read this story this morning, my first thought went back to what I prayed a couple of days ago about the Magi: Who did they think they were worshipping? What did they think their act of prostration and gifts to him were accomplishing? In their minds, whom were they worshipping and honoring? I will bet it wasn’t an immaculately conceived son of yours who would live a humble life, teach, die, and then resurrect for their opportunity to relate to you directly. For their great-great-great-great grandchildren to be invited into knowing the Living God.

And the truth is, I have no idea what I am doing at any given moment. I am as ignorant as these men. Even in what I think I know of you, I am still woefully ignorant. I know that huge chunks of my theology are wrong. How could they not be? I know I probably make as big of mistakes as these men likely made then. If they had known their visit would lead to slaughter of all of the young boys in the area, would they have made the visit at all?

Father, what I bring to you is an earnest heart. I love you. I really want to do what you need me to do in this world. And I am confident that I miss ten times as many opportunities as I catch. Please redeem my mistakes and bless the few victories I make. Lord, I give you my heart. That is what I lay before you. Use the small life you have given to me as you will.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 10, 2024 in Advent 2024, Matthew

 

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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 9

09 Dec

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.

Matthew 2:3

Dear God, before I read Piper’s commentary on this verse, I want to sit with the last five words: as was everyone in Jerusalem. As word spread about the magi being in town and looking for the newly born “King of the Jews,” what were they thinking? And I want to put a pin in these people for if we talk about the flight to Egypt and the killing of all the young boys, but for now I want to consider what their hope and fears were. Herod’s are pretty easy to figure out. He just saw a threat. A threat to himself. A threat to his bosses in Rome. A threat to his lineage.

But for “everyone in Jerusalem,” what were they “deeply disturbed” by? Did they even want a Messiah, or was the status quo more comfortable? Were they afraid of war? Were they willing to possibly pay the price they thought they would be asked to pay in following a Messiah into battle against the Romans? This is what I assume they were thinking.

And then there is the reality. If they had recognized what Jesus actually came to do–to offer a path to the controlled burn I talked about yesterday–would they have rejoiced instead? Would they too have sought out the baby? What kept all of them from going to Bethlehem and following the magi?

There is so much here that is me. Afraid of the word it will take to follow you. Afraid of risking what I have. Afraid of what would be new. Yes, I might be living in a pit, but the pit is home now. I’ve made it work. What would my life look like if I were to upset all of that to do something you’re calling me to do?

Okay, I just read Piper’s commentary, and it lines up remarkably with what I just said except he was more articulate about it:

There are two kinds of people who do not want to worship Jesus the Messiah. The first kind is the people who simply do nothing about Jesus. He is a non-entity in their lives. This group is represented by the chief priests and scribes: “Assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [Herod] inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” Well, they told him, and that was that–back to business as usual. The sheer silence and inactivity of the religious leaders are overwhelming given the magnitude of what was happening

Compare that with the reaction Herod and the rest of Jerusalem: “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” In other words, the rumor was going around that someone thought the Messiah was born, and everyone but the chief priests took note. Why did they not go with the magi? There were not interested. They did not want to worship the true God.

The second kind of people who do not want to worship Jesus are those who are deeply threatened by him. Herod was deeply afraid–so much so that he schemed and lied and then committed mass murder just to get rid of Jesus.

Father, I think I am going to lean on the serenity prayer this morning. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 9, 2024 in Advent 2024, Matthew

 

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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 8

08 Dec

 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:2

Dear God, I focused on these verses yesterday, but John Piper is keeping me here a day longer, so I want to take this time with him to sit with the idea of the Magi.

One of the things Piper suggests is that while Luke tells us about the Shepherds, Matthew tells us about the Magi because Matthew is careful to include the Gentiles in his message about Jesus. Jesus’s story opens with these Gentile worshippers, and Matthew ends to book with Jesus sending the disciples out to the world. It’s why I’m here today. Who would I be without you? I don’t even know how to answer that question, but I know you are everything to who I am.

I really like what Piper has to say today. I want to quote part of today’s entry here:

I want to exhort you not to become preoccupied with developing theories that are only tentative in the end and have very little spiritual significance. In fact, I will risk a generalization to warn you: People who are exercised and preoccupied with such things as how the star worked and how the Red Sea split and how the manna fell and how Jonah survived the fish and how the moon turns to blood are generally people who have what I call a mentality for the marginal…What is plain concerning this matter of the star is that it is doing something that it cannot do on its own: it is guiding magi to the Son of God to worship…So the lesson is plain: God is guiding foreigners to Christ to worship him.

I like the idea that I don’t have to try to wrap my mind around the miracles of the Bible. Partly, I suppose, because they are miracles and, by definition, are not understandable. But there is a great overriding message in the Bible that you are moving history forward regardless of the mistakes we make along the way.

And I was just reminded in my thoughts that I am so small. I am literally 1/7,000,000,000 of the earth’s human population right now. You, on the other hand, are the only God, and you are amazing. You are simply amazing. And you’ve done amazing things. The coming incarnation of Jesus is the pivotal moment in our human history. Amazing. The grace you give us through Jesus is amazing.

That leads me to a thought my wife gave me yesterday morning. She was talking about controlled burns as part of land management. There were huge grass fires in the Texas panhandle a few years ago, and they were destructive because they were not controlled, but the results were still amazing. Streams appeared that hadn’t been there before. New plants grew. We talked about how that is like what repenting before Jesus is like, but controlled. When the alcoholic or addict of some sort hits bottom, sometimes it can be like an uncontrolled burn that destroys a lot, but if they find help at the bottom. If they find a higher power. If they find you, then you can help them restore what was burned. But for the person who is convicted and invites you in for a controlled burn of their heart. For you to burn away the chaff. To search our hearts and cleanse the clutter. Well, streams of living water will start to flow that we had no idea were even there.

Father, these magi didn’t know what they were doing back then. They just knew they needed to act and so they did. I’m sure their conversation was interesting as they left for Jerusalem. They didn’t know what they would find. I’ll pray later about what their conversation must have been like as they left for home, but for now, I will just sit with them in their ignorant compulsion to seek you out.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 8, 2024 in Advent 2024, Matthew

 

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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 7

07 Dec

2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:1-2

Dear God, I looked a day ahead and saw that Piper waits until tomorrow to get to verse 3. I haven’t read his commentary yet, but I am assuming he wants us to just sit with the eastern wise men for a while.

It’s too bad we don’t get more of their story. Who were they? Where were they from? What were they studying that brought them to Jerusalem? If they knew enough to go to Jerusalem, why didn’t they know to go to Bethlehem? And how did the star thing work? I just looked it up to make sure, but these verses in Matthew about the wise men are the only mentions any of the Gospels make about the “star.” Funny how we’ve brought that forward and made it such an important part of the story. How did it become part of the story for these men?

So what were they expecting as they walked to Israel? What did they have in mind? And why did they go? Were they trying to curry favor in advance from this new king? Is that why they brought gifts? Were they assuming the new parents would be powerful, and they were wanting to impress them? It’s probably the most mysterious part of this story for me. They had just enough information to put them into action, but not so much that they had a grasp of what was happening. As I told a friend yesterday about myself, you had them on a need-to-know basis, and there was only so much you needed them to know.

Oh, how that is me sometimes. Sometimes, I feel you encourage me into action, and I have no idea why. I was telling that same friend about something you got me to do against my will a couple of years ago. I felt the urging from you and I resisted it. Then I asked my wife about it and she agreed with you. That made me angry. I asked some coworkers about it, and they agreed with you and my wife. That made me really angry. So I did the thing, but I was angry about it. I mean, I was physically, emotionally angry. You remember. But then, not even a week later, you revealed to me why you had me do it, and it was so important that it had been done. So important! I honestly don’t know what things would have looked like if I hadn’t done it.

Father, I am as ignorant as those “wise men” were. For all their wisdom, they only had one very tiny piece of the picture. They knew about a star and a king. They knew they should bring gifts. They didn’t know how you needed those gifts to be used. They didn’t know what difference this would make in Mary’s and Joseph’s lives. They also didn’t know that their visit would lead to a slaughter of children (we tend to forget that without their visit, Jesus wouldn’t have been on Herod’s radar). So help me to simply be faithful today, to not resist you even when what you’re asking me to do makes me angry, to worship you, and to love others. And please lead me into a peace that only you can give.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 7, 2024 in Advent 2024, Matthew

 

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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 6

06 Dec

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Luke 2:8-15

Dear God, I just read Piper’s commentary on verses 12-14, the ones on which he focused today’s entry and which I highlighted above. He leaned into the “peace” the angel promised. He noted the angel did not offer peace to the whole world. It was peace for those with whom God is pleased. Of course, I talk about peace a lot in reference to the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22. Of the nine fruits Paul lists there, I feel like peace is the one I cannot fake or will myself to. Peace only comes from you.

For me, when I read this story, I wonder why these guys? Why go to them at all? They weren’t told to do anything. They weren’t told to go check Jesus out. They were just told about him. Were they the only ones the angel(s) appeared to that night? Are they just the only ones who went and told Mary and Joseph about it so it go recorded later by Luke. If they had just gone back to sleep, we’d never have known about this angel visit.

I like the idea that these guys were part of a bigger plan on your part. They were no threat to anyone, including Mary and Joseph, so they wouldn’t try to take the baby away from them like other more prominent people might have tried to do. And they were a source of encouragement to Mary and Joseph as they sat there in the place where Jesus was born, trying to make sense of their lives. They didn’t know it, and they probably never knew it, but you used them to bless Mary and Joseph that night because, in my opinion, they needed a little encouragement and a little blessing.

Father, use me today. Love others through me today. Help me to understand exactly what you have for me to do in the lives of everyone I encounter, including the donors I write letters to. I will be spending time with family later. Help me to be exactly what you need them to have from me. Love them well through me. Be glorified through me. Make me a servant to them.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 6, 2024 in Advent 2024, Luke

 

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