An Amazing Leader/An Amazing Child

Read Isaiah 11:1-10

Whenever there is a new leader there is new hope – or at least there is proclamations about the new hope. People get excited about the tough days of old will now end and the new leader will lead us out of these days (whatever these days are).

With the kings of old proclamations would be written declaring how this new king will lead us to prosperity. How this new king will rule with righteousness. How this new king will bring peace to the land. New kings, new leaders, will always tell us how they give us hope.

But what is so different in this passage in Isaiah is that it is not talking about the new leader in office. It’s telling us about a baby! And the baby is yet to come. At least the baby is yet to come when these words were written 2700 or so years ago. For us today this baby came and we anticipate that coming with our advent readings and we celebrate that coming in our celebration of Christmas.

Let’s take a look at this child:

Verse 1 – the root of Jesse. This is a poetic way of talking about Jesus. Jesse is the father of the ancient Jewish King David (about 1000 years before the birth of Jesus). God had promised that the savior would come from David – in other words the root of Jesse.

This child will come with a spirit of wisdom, counsel, might, knowledge, and a fear of the LORD. In fact he will delight in the fear of the LORD. Fear doesn’t mean being scared but means reverence. This child will delight is revering God.

Then look at verse 6. We begin a series of Utopian statements about how nature will be calmed so much that even predators will lie down with their prey in peace. It’s an amazing image: A wolf relaxing with a lamb, a leopard with a goat, a lion with a calf. There a TV commercial running right now for Traveler’s Insurance showing just this image: of animals of all kind living in peace with each other. This is the image Isaiah is using showing the completeness of the peace this child brings. Look at the last line of verse 6 – and a little child will lead them. A little child! What the Traveler’s Insurance commercial needs is a little child walking in the midst of it all making it all happen – Jesus is the leader of this Utopian vision!

Finally look at verse 10. When you raise your banner it is a sign to all that you can come to the banner and the king will be there and it is a rallying place. It was often used in war as a sign to come here for rest. The end of verse 10 tells us His resting place will be glorious. This little child, the one we celebrate at Christmas time – Jesus -- will give us a Glorious Resting Place. That is why he is coming! That is why He already has come!

So for politicians they create slogans to tell us how great life with them will be. For Jesus, the child that is coming, the root of Jesse, the one who delights is God - He gives us a promise. A promise we can trust in.

Amen.

Advent with Zeal

Read Isaiah 9:1-7

Zeal: eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something.

Isaiah 9 is such a great passage about Jesus and Advent. It looks to the future about when a people walking in darkness will see the Light (Remember, Jesus is the light! John 8:12). And this light will remove the gloom as a child will lead us – a child with such amazing names as “Wonderful Counselor”, “Mighty God”, “Everlasting Father”, and “Prince of Peace”.

There is great news in Isaiah 9:1-7. I think we would do well to study this passage closely.

But this morning I want to focus on just the last sentence: “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

This is an amazing passage of victory and peace and a vision for the future. And it will all come about because of God’s zeal. GOD’S zeal! God has “eagerness and ardent interest” in giving his people a leader that will lead to eternal peace. That leader is the baby in the stable: Jesus.

What do I have zeal for? Outside my religious interest I’d have to say I have a zeal for really well made pizza. People today seem to like the cheap, ready made bargain pizza. I like pizza with flavor. When a new pizza place opens I desire to go there and try their pizza. When I arrive in the pizza place I smell the air. Pizza that is made on the premise (as opposed to the dough being made elsewhere and trucked to the location) should give a wonderful “yeast” aroma to the building. When the pizza arrives at my table the first thing I do is taste the crust. Good pizza must have a good crust. Then I take a bite but I don’t just chew, I focus on tasting the sauce – it’s the second most important part of the pizza. I actually have other steps but this gives you an idea of my crazy zeal for pizza.

In Christmas God has this kind of crazy zeal for mankind! When the first Christmas finally came God smelled the air. God watched with ardent interest. The angels sang. The heavens rejoice. People marveled and God “zealously” watched it all. He was more excited about Christmas than a razorback fan at the LSU game. God cheered while Christmas unfolded!

I pray we all will have that kind of zeal at the birth of Jesus.

Jesus is the Light: Advent Readings

John 1:4-5; John 8:12

I didn’t become a true follower of Jesus until my college years. Before that I actually called myself an atheist or skeptic. But my youth was spent going to church (mom made me go) so I had memories of what Christians did and once I became a follower I wanted to experience all the celebrations of my youth but as a true followers of Jesus.

When my first Christmas came as true devotee of Jesus I was excited to experience the true meaning of Jesus – the celebration of the incarnation of Jesus. I figured it would be so cool as a true believer. I was extremely disappointed. The “Christmas season” got in the way of my celebration of the birth of Jesus. I was busy working extra hours at a lumber yard so I could afford gifts. There were people everywhere in a hurry. And Christmas eve and Christmas day seemed to be all about food, relatives, and opening gifts.

At first I was disappointed in my culture but then I realized I did little to make it different. I wanted others to do things so I could have a “real Christmas”. But what to do? I did two things: One I bought a “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” button and I put it on my coat the next Christmas. This might seem minor but it actually was an important ritual for me every Christmas for many years.

The second thing I did was far more important. I was introduced to the concept of the season of Advent – a special period of time that started four Sundays before Christmas. It was a time period of daily Bible readings that pointed my mind to Jesus. Advent is a time to remember the coming and over over the years I added things to celebrate Jesus’ coming.

One thing I started doing is putting up Christmas lights. But not for the cultural reasons, but because of the Bible today’s Bible verses! Jesus is the light of the world and the light shines in the darkness. Every year I’d put up lights, either on my house or in my room when I rented a room. On the first Sunday of Advent (this year Nov. 28^th) I’d turn on the lights and I’d say “Jesus is the light of the world and the light shines in the darkness.” This might seem simple but for me it has become a special moment for my celebration. When I finally decided to follow Jesus, Jesus brought light into the darkness of my life. I’m a very different person today because of that light. Christmas is about the light and I’m going to light the lights to begin my celebration.

I am so thankful that the light of Jesus shines in my life and as I begin remembering the most important moment in history, before Easter, I want to light the lights to daily remind me that Jesus is the light.

Advent Readings

Advent means a “coming”. Many Christians prepare for the celebration of Christmas by reading daily “advent” readings. The goal of the readings to look at the whole Christmas story. It actually begins in the Old Testament with some prophecy about Jesus and then goes to the New Testament and looks at the events of Christmas and Jesus’ life. Advent always begins four Sundays before Christmas (Dec. 25^th). To use this guide read the passage of the day each day and ask yourself “What do I learn about Jesus today and what does it mean to me?”

Week one: Jesus will come

Sunday Nov. 28^th John 1:4-5; John 8:12

Monday Nov. 29^th Isaiah 9:1-7

Tuesday Nov. 30^th Isaiah 11:1-12

Wednesday Dec. 1^st Isaiah 40:1-11

Thursday Dec. 2^nd Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Friday Dec. 3^rd Psalm 22:1-8

Saturday Dec. 4^th Psalm 22:9-21

Week two: Jesus has come!

Sunday Dec. 5^th Psalm 22:22-31

Monday Dec. 6^th Luke 1:1-25

Tuesday Dec. 7^th Luke 1:26-38

Wednesday Dec. 8^th Luke 1: 39-56

Thursday Dec. 9^th Luke 2:1-21

Friday Dec. 10^th Luke 2:22-40

Saturday Dec. 11^th Luke 2:40-52

Week three: What Jesus did

Sunday Dec. 12^th Luke 4:1-14

Monday Dec. 13^th John 1:1-18

Tuesday Dec. 14^th John 18:1-11

Wednesday Dec. 15^th John 18:12-27

Thursday Dec. 16^th John 18:28-40

Friday Dec. 17^st John 19:1-16

Saturday Dec. 18^th John 19:17-42

Week four: What it means to me

Sunday Dec. 19^th John 20:1-23

Monday Dec. 20^th John 16:5-16

Tuesday Dec. 21^st John 16:17-33

Wednesday Dec. 22^nd Ephesians 2:1-22

Thursday Dec. 23^rd Hebrews 10:19-25

Friday Dec. 24^th 1^st Corinthians 15:50-58

Christmas day:

Saturday Dec. 25^th Luke 2:1-20

(re-read the Christmas story)

I hope you enjoy these readings. I'll be posting my reflections on my advent readings on my blog throughout the Advent seasons. After you read the passage yourself feel free to check out my reflections.

Have a great celebration of the birth of our Lord. It's an amazing story.

Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus?

Brief Reflections on 1 Samuel 12

In 1 Samuel 11 we see Saul, the king the people wanted, step up and actually lead the people successfully. He really shows he is their leader. And he does it well.

But then 1 Samuel 12 comes along and Samuel, their leader and prophetc, confronts the people and their attitude. He defends his time as leader of Israel. He then recounts history about how when the people got in trouble they called to the Lord for help and the Lord provided them with a judge that lead them. This actually is the whole repeated cycle in the book of Judges. The people call out for help and God provides. This is the way it should be, but it’s a challenging way. Each time trouble comes you have to call to God and trust that he will come and help.

I have to raise my support to do the work I do (campus ministry). I am not a superstar of fundraising. In fact for many years I’ve been underpaid because of the lack of funds. I’ve taken classes to learn the right way to do fundraising and I’ve put those practices into practice. Sometimes it seems to help other times not. So because I fail so much at raising money, I pray a lot for our needs. And I have a list stories were God has provided when our funds were gone. Two of the cars I still own are examples of this:

1986 Nissan truck. I’ve had this truck for something like 18 years now! It’s not nice looking but it does what we need it to do. This truck has been a workhorse for us. Many times our “other car” – the family car, has died and we have turned to this truck as our only car. The Nissan came to us in a miracle: Cynthia and I went to the California coast to teach at an IVCF fellowship there. After teaching we went up the coast for a weekend in a friend’s house in Cambria. We brought our new bikes and had a wonderful time enjoying the coast. On Sunday we loaded up and headed home. But on the way home the car actually caught on fire and we had to return to Cambria. Now we are stuck in a small beach town. Cynthia had to get home on Monday and some friends on the coast loaned us a car for her to get home. I stayed in Cambria with our burnt car hoping to get it fixed. I had just my bike to get around (which was actually fun!) On Tuesday I had a meeting at my church back at home that I was going to miss so I called the church and told them my story and that I was stuck on the coast. They replied “Wow, we just had a call from Gary and he has a truck that he has decided he want to sell half his listed price to someone in ministry.” That same day I had got news that our car was beyond repair. So Cynthia came and got me. We still needed a loan to buy this truck so I made arrangements with Gary to meet me at the bank to apply for a loan. Gary showed up and said he didn’t want me paying interest to a bank so he wanted us to make 6 months of payments to him. A great answer to prayer – but it doesn’t stop there! A month later, after our first payment, I saw Gary on campus and he said his taxes worked out better than he expected and he didn’t want me to make any more payments. The truck was ours! And now 18 years later the truck has needed very, very few repairs and is still running (just not stopping so well). We had a need, God answered.

1996 Honda Accord. Much more simple story here. Our minivan was needing a lot of repairs and our family of 4 was relying on my Nissan truck more and more often. We began praying for a new vehicle. A person in our community group, who knew our need, had just accepted a transfer to Georgia that included getting a new vehicle. So he contacted me and gave us his Honda that he had taken great care of. That Honda is still our main family car!

In both cases we had a need, we prayed, and God answered. And I have other stories like this for computers, money, vacations. . . . And yet I still often wonder how much easier life would be if I was rich (won the lottery? Won McDonalds monopoly game? Mysterious rich supporter drops a million dollars off on the front step? ) In reality I’m saying to God, can’t you just give it all to me know so I don’t have to rely on You?

That’s what Israel wants when they ask for a king. They have a history with God that when they needed help they called to God and He provided. But now they want a king so he can always protect them. They want security of a king so it’s his job to provide and he will be to blame. And that is the sin that Samuel mentions in 1 Samuel 12:17. The sin of not wanting to trust in God.

They said “Give us a king so we will be safe, even though you have made us safe many times before”. I say “Give us a million dollars so I can provide for my family without worry, even though God has provided for us many times before.” Both are sin.

Let us all repent and put trust God before we trust man made security.

Amen.

Follow up: After I wrote the above I was moved to sing the song “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus” so I grabbed my dulcimer and started to sing. But after awhile I thought – “what a hypocrite I am singing this song. I don’t think it’s “sweet” to trust in Jesus. I think it’s difficult”. However it is sweet when God provides (like in my vehicle stories). But then I saw the last line of the song: “Oh for grace to trust Him more”. It is sweet when God provides and I need more grace to find the sweetness in waiting. I then sang a new song we are doing for our Satsang: Hum Bole Prabhu Yeshu nama – I cry out to the name of the of Jesus. And then the last line: Jai Yeshu Nam, Jai Yeshu – Victory in Jesus name, Victory in Jesus. What a wonderful worship time: the sweetness of trusting in Jesus followed by singing about Victory in Jesus’ name. May we all trust more often and celebrate the victories more loudly!

Jesus and Lights

Diwali and Jesus

Yesterday the Friends of India had the Diwali celebration on campus. Diwali is one of the most popular celebrations in India – it is called the “Celebration of Lights”. Chris Hale, from Ardhana, shares on Aradhna's blog a brief reflection from a booklet he read that gives interesting insight into Diwali (his link is http://aradhnamusic.com/)

I just received an amazing little booklet of Christ's words in the Sermon on the Mount, in typical North India Bhojpuri poetic style. I've been meditating on them over the last couple days. The booklet is put out by the Mukteshwar Math (Mutt) in Varanasi, where our dear friend, Swami Muktanand lives. The Math and Swami ji are featured in the upcoming DVD, Sau Guna in the songs Holy River and Yeshu Bhajan. I've attached a picture by Michael Wilson, that was taken at the Math. The little booklet is called, Sanatan Guru Yesu Ki Vani (the Word of the Eternal Guru Jesus).


Here is a line for our Diwali meditations. (sorry all you English speakers, skip down to the translation!)

Deep na jala rakein koi neeche
Rakhat sab jan deewat ke unchen
Ho ujiyaar bhavan sab taasen
Mudit banat sab jan tam naasen
Chamke Jyoti Janan bich aise
Chamkit deepak-deewat pe jaise
Lakh jisse tumhare bhal kama
Karei stuti, Prabhu pitu naama

No one lights an oil lamp and hides it somewhere
It is placed for all to see
So that light spreads through the whole house
It makes all joyful and casts off the darkness
So like a lamp stand shining out its light
Let your beautiful works be
They will praise the name of the Lord, our Father

If you aren’t familiar with Aradhna look around their website. They have influenced our Yeshu Satsangs greatly. Many of my favorite worship songs are now in Hindi! Aradhna has a new album coming out soon!