AWWR#5

Read: Luke 1-2:40 emphasis on verse 1

Sing: Prepare Him Room

As we prepare to jump into the heart of the context next week I wanted to focus on verse 1 today and leave us with something to meditate on this weekend. Luke wrote for a very specific reason. A beautiful reason and one that as believers we should hold tightly too, and consider each time we go to our own Bibles. J.C. Ryle writes, " Luke gives us a short , but valuable sketch of the nature of the gospel. He calls it, 'A declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us.' It is a narrative of facts about Jesus Christ."

Ryle goes on to write, " Christianity is a religion built upon facts. Let us never lose sight of this. It came before mankind at first in this shape. The first preachers did not go up and down the world, proclaiming an elaborate, artificial system of abstruse doctrines and deep principles. They made it their business to tell men great plain facts. They went about telling a sin- laden world, that the Son of God had come down to earth, lived for us, died for us, and risen again. The Gospel, at its first publication, was far more simple than many make it now. It was neither more nor less that the history of Christ."

Woah. I read this paragraph several times the past few months as I studied this portion of Scripture. I looked around me to our church at present and needed to take time to grieve over the mess, over the emotional, therapeutic, deism that we have mucked the history of Jesus into. Then I realized, we can do something about this. You, me...every lady reading this and every woman willing to listen to you share this. We can be students of the Word. We can know the facts of the Gospel through the revealed Word of Christ inside and out. AND then, be able to share it articulately with others around us. 

Often we start the good news of Jesus with ourselves. We try to break ground with people by telling them what Jesus has done for us. He instantly becomes a bonus buddy, not the Savior of the World. We lose sight of the fact that we were dead in our sins and trespasses...dead. There was nothing that we could do. Dead men can't help themselves, but Jesus Christ came, bore our sins on the cross, and now clothes us in His righteousness. My husband has used this analogy often while teaching at events and conferences...we lead too much with the answer. We go up to people and say the answer is Jesus! We don't lay out the problem we just offer a solution to something they are not looking for. Or we make it super ambiguous- Ab+DR*3q=Christ.We make the problem obsolete and offer a confusing solution. We must know the Gospel in its entirety and in its clarity. We have a great problem Sin=death. That must be made evident. But we have a greater Savior. Christ=salvation. He came, paid the debt we could not, to a problem we would never solve, and he gave it freely.

Friend, may we be able, as Luke himself, share with all the Theophilus in our lives an orderly account of the good news of Jesus Christ. 

Read: Luke 1-2:41

Sing: Prepare Him Room

Always winter but never Christmas. C.S. Lewis sets out in his book to describe the state of Narnia. A place where there was always longing but never hope. As I thought on how it would have been to live in the time of silence, the 400 years where the prayers of the people " Come Lord," were answered with quietness, this quote came to mind.

The people waited. They longed for the coming of a rescue plan. They awaited Salvation. They waited for a King. Some, waited faithfully. We hear of their accounts from the gospels. Faithful servants, priests and wives, young men and old men alike. They awaited.

Its hard to wait 25 days for Christmas and we know (Lord willing) it is coming! We know what day, it is written on our calendar. The whole world knows the 25th is Christmas day. Yet, so many times as a believer, we find ourselves living without hope, as if in Narnia where it is always winter and never Christmas; as if we too,have been sitting in 400 years of silence. We live without the glorious truth of the birth, death and resurrection of the Savior and without the hope that He is coming again. We have the Word! The written account from men inspired by God, to ensure that we knew the history of Christ. 

Today, lets challenge ourselves and examine our hearts. What do our hearts look like this Advent? Not, what do we wish they look like, not where we hope to get too, but today...right now, where are we? Are we laying in wait as if the King has not yet come? Do we bear the same gloom of a perishing world in spite of the proclamations of the promises of God? Are we heralds?! Have we heard the Gospel news and now beam with such gladness that we are telling everyone... CHRISTMAS HAS COME!!!!! 

Can we "Advent," well?! Can our preparations turn our hearts to Him, can they be good tidings of great joy for all people? Can we find moments to spread the love of Jesus and an 'otherworldly' kindness to others...even if its just a smile and thank you to people at check outs? Can we pray over family gatherings and Christmas parties and holiday get togethers...that we could use this season to the glory of God? My prayer, is that we can be glimmers of joy that comes from a confidence in Christ this Christmas.

A Weary World Rejoices #3

 It is easy to have our eyes glaze over as we read a story that we have heard over and over again. It is easy to allow the Biblical narrative of the incarnation of Jesus to fall as flat as a Sunday School felt board manger scene on our hearts. It becomes ordinary. It becomes...dare I say...boring to us. " We have heard it before." 

If you find yourself in this camp this Christmas, may I challenge you to see the story anew. May we start with our posture and the understanding that every time we read scripture we are reading the living breathing Word of God? That every time we get to hear this and read this, we are  among the privileged people who have access to the Bible, who have had access to education that we may read, have access to finances that we can own not just a bible but usually multiple variations!

As we read through Luke 1-2:40 again today let us pause and consider ourselves blessed. Just as Luke writes to Theophilus, how good it is for us too as Gentiles alike to be given the good news of Jesus Christ!

Luke addresses Theophilus is a very specific manner. "Excellent Theophilus." This title is typically given to Roman officials. We see the same term used by Paul in Acts 24:3 and 26:25 for Felix and Festus. Theophilus "represents a Gentile class being systematically taught the Christian message"(RSB pg1521).

Incredible. God's word and promises for all people, of every nation tribe and tongue. We get to be partakers of this. 

A last thought this day...1 John 2 reminds us, "Do not love the world or the things of this world...For all that is in the world-the desires of the the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life-is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." Christmas, especially in our modern Western context seems to literally emphasize and sell these three things. Suddenly we are super concerned with appearance, possession and material things. It is perfectly off focus of Christ and on focus to nothing of eternal value. 

I am not saying Christmas and its traditions are inherently wrong, we love driving around looking at lights, watching Christmas movies and eating Christmas goodies, what I am suggesting- is that we each examine our hearts as we press forward. Are there areas that would be clustered into these 3 regions of warnings that we need to remove and repent of? Are there areas of idolatry or sin that we must steer clear of? And more so, are there areas that we can love Christ more, spend time in His Word more and exemplify him more?! The Gospel Coalition has put out some excellent articles lately that go more in depth into this if you are interested in diving more into this topic. 

My prayer is that we are ready to 'systematically be taught the Christian message,' and rejoice in its truths yet again. After all, the grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of the Lord remains forever. <3

Prepare Him Room

A Weary World Rejoices #2

Have you noticed how many people decorated early this year for Christmas? I mean, between social media and driving through our neighborhood it seemed as if trees were up sooner and lights were one houses brighter this year. Even our kids noticed. I have been thinking on this quite a bit and my thought is...these have been a pretty rough few years globally and regionally. From illness and lockdowns to loss of life and loss of sanity it seems as if we are just weary. In an increasingly secular world, people are having a longing for something, anything in the darkness of despair. In comes...Christmas lights! They make people happy. The twinkle of lights, the beautiful decor...something about the beauty of light shining out in darkness.

Sound familiar? Those who are in Christ, those who are familiar with scripture, our hearts might quickly jump at this connection...those who once walked in darkness have seen a great light. 1 John 1 tells is it is their joy to write " that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."

Which brings us to today's portion of scripture. We will again read Luke 1-2:40 to gain an overall with where we are going. But, lets consider the historical context of Luke specifically.

Luke was written sometime in the 60 a.d. period. Luke was a physician and gentile who was not one of the 12 disciples. He did however travel with Paul on some of his missionary journeys. Luke sets out to write " an orderly account," for a person by the name of Theophilus so that he too might have certainty in the message of Christ. (more on him tomorrow)

J.C. Ryle writes in his commentary on Luke, that he feels he must keep his book short and readable because "we live in a hurrying age." Ha! Imagine what he would think of society now. Not only do we live in a hurrying age but we like in a don't know, don't care age. May we challenge ourselves to pause as we work through Luke this Advent, that we would long to know with certainty the things of Christ, and that we can bask in the methodical and systematic way in which Luke has broken down the order of the events of Christ.

Luke contains many things not found in the other three Gospels. The histories of Zacharias and Elisabeth, the angel's announcement to the virgin Mary and a lot of the content from chapters 1 and 2 to name a few. 

J.C. Ryle sums it up, this is a "sketch of the nature of the Gospel- he (Luke) calls it a 'declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,' it is a narrative of facts about Jesus Christ." "The Gospel is neither more or less that the history of Christ."

This season, pray to know Christ with certainty. Pray for chances to share the history of Jesus birth with others. With so many longing for light this winter season, I pray ours is not kept under a bushel but set up high for all to see.

Prepare Him Room

Day 1: Luke 1-2:40

 Good morning! Here we are on Day 1 of our Advent Study. I am so excited. Today will be a general overview and layout of where we will all be going! 

This year we are studying Luke 1-2:40. It may seem like a shorter passage as in years past we have done huge chunks of the Bible or entire books. BUT, it will take us the entirety of the study to work through this. It is such a rich passage and I have been busting at the seams, since diving in months ago, to share the glorious truths of Christ and His coming with you all!

As always, this will be (mostly) methodical and done in an expository manner going verse by verse. We will have a Christmas worship song every few days to help prepare our hearts for the study and keep us meditating on it throughout the day. My favorite part of the Advent study is how it helps "right the ship," for me during a season that can get overwhelming and chaotic. It makes it a little harder to be stressed over Christmas cookies after spending a morning immersed in the mystery of the incarnation. 

It is hard to keep Christ at the center of the celebration, lets face it, it's hard to keep Christ at the center most days in general. But, as we pause and read, and see God's promise fulfilled we can once again renew our hope, for what He promised He has done. We also live in a society with loose theology, where Christmas and the message can be distorted or added too, let us heed Peter's warning "There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do other scriptures." The Incarnation of Christ, the Virgin birth, these can lead some to rabbit holes of conspiracy theories and myths, may we not be women who are easily deceived but rooted and grounded in the Word of God.

So for today and the next few days to follow we will start with a sweeping overview of what we are about to dive into. Please read with me Luke 1-2:40. I often will read it, listen to it, and then read while listening to it...(it takes a bit to get in in my head and heart...lol)

Resources I will be using: Reformation Study Bible ESV, Reformation Heritage Study Bible KJV, Luke Volume 1 by J.C. Ryle, Advent study books by Dr. James Montgomery Boice and Sinclair Ferguson, and Sermons on Luke 1 and 2 by John Calvin. Also, please look forward to sermon links that I listen to to deepen my study from both well known, and local pastors. 

Praying many blessings and marvelous wonders this Advent study.

Song for today:Prepare Him Room

Lost time

 It's incredible to me how much time I waste online. I know- ironically I am online writing this to you all, but if you're online...like me... you probably waste a lot of time here too :) 

As our summer wrapped up, during an exceptionally busy season, I thought our days would slow. Ha, super wrong. I felt like I had lost so much time. Truth be told, I had. Yet it wasn't in the ways in which we spent our days, as the Lord numbers those, and sovereignly lays out how they will go. It was what I did with the days. Often overwhelmed, rather than turning to prayer or the Word, I scroll. Can you relate? It is easier to peak through social media for 20 mins than to pause and pray for 5. 

I have felt very convicted by this. I am a time waster. In numerous areas. And yet as apologetic as you can be, it is not something that you can get back. I might be sorry for wasting those 30 mins but no matter how sorry, I don't get to do them again. This can be depressing- or it can be motivating. Having repented for this habit that has become so natural, I also wanted to replace it with something... better yet harder.

October 1st brings us to about 90 days left of the year. Wow. And the holidays will quickly be upon us. Full of lists and things, and people. All quite lovely, some quite stressful, and others quite hard. Our default might be to not make time for what we should, and turn to ease and comfort..cookies and Insta. But, I ask dear friend- would you join me in something that will not return void?

I have asked a few ladies and my husband to read through the Bible in 90 days with me. A re-calibration if you will. An honest assessment of my own heart- is I have some spiritual love handles and complacency. Yet, thanks be to God who hears and answers prayers. Through the teaching of His word He has graciously revealed in convicted me in these areas. In small conversations I have had with other women, I trust I am not alone. 

YouVersion has a 90 day reading plan. Join us?! I plan on a mixture on reading and audio as I fold laundry or do dishes or garden. There is no "right way," in this. Simply humbling ourselves and putting the Word center. 

Ephesians reminds us "Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." 

Time is never wasted in the Word It does not return void. That is a promise we can hold onto! Join me!

Bringing back a thankful heart

 Good morning!

     It has been a while. I needed time. My family needed time. But it is time to be back! I hope to finally move over to a web version for a collection of not just my posts but guest posts, and excellent resources for women that consistently and constantly point us to Christ. Soli Deo Gloria!

   I have a giant fear at the moment. We are all suffering from a case of want mes and grumbles. We want things back to how they used to be. We have many complaints to lodge against those who don't hold our covid views. In fact, we are more passionate about peoples pandemic response then anything I have seen in a very long time. As believers, and as believing women this should not be so. Our primary pursuit and passion should always be....Christ. Our language should bear the love of Christ and our passion should be the Gospel. I have suffered from wandering heart and running tongue disease often over this year. Lodging complaints and a grumbling attitude from everything to the weather, to the mask, to the traffic, to aches and pains or injustices. I have been quick to anger or anxiety and a sluggard to prayer. Can anyone else relate?

    Whats a woman to do? Memorize the Word. Replace the world's message with Biblical Absolutes! Care to join me? 

The Daily Grace Company publishes study guides called "Dwell" I am beginning the one on Psalms for praise and thanksgiving with a hope to reset my heart and mind prior to our Advent season. Studying is more fun together. Email or message me if you care to join so we can encourage one another in word and deed. Memorizing scripture is not only for our children, it is a way to store God's word deep in our hearts and allow Him to shape our thoughts, and responses to His Glory! 

DWELL

Also, here is the first Psalm set to music!