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Ancient ruins called out.
A world that had fallen, was desperately calling.

A collective wave, building across generations
Creation upon creations, growing need but losing patience.

Losing the ability to continue spinning wheels, needing a God who heals.
A God who steals the despair of His people, and gives a new name.

A new claim as Priests, and with Justice they feast
God’s faithfulness and covenant coming like supernatural yeast.

And raising Joy from the soil, supplying the oil
For lamps that will burn with a blazing new light.

In the Lord we delight, we share in his “Right”.
So long wandering in silence, we’ve been given new voice
and it’s first words we hear shouted – “REJOICE!”

Isaiah 61:4-11
“They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.” I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. “

A while back, we were watching an episode of “The Berenstein Bears”.  It was an episode full of irony, as the focus was on Mama Bear asking the family to not watch anything on their television for an amount of time.  They were forced to do creative things, read, explore, imagine, and play pretend.  In fact, the one who seemed to struggle with it most was Papa Bear.  My heart went out to him, as Mama Bear had horrible timing….it was HOCKEY PLAYOFFS!  He handled it much better than I may have.  🙂

One of the first games the kids decided to play, was to create a television out of cardboard.  Catching the irony here?  As we sat and laughed at the scene, my mind was (is) always wandering  in the land of “How can this speak to our faith journey?”, and this one smacked us right in the Savior.

How often do we find ourselves living for “success” with Jesus in the same way the world lives for “success”?  A 12-step program, a “next level” or “title” we seek to attain, the “blessings” of money and influence, the nebulous emotion known as “happiness” at the center of all we seek, etc.

Because the truth is, God didn’t send His son to earth, have Him die, and experience the resurrection ahead of all things – simply to have us build another television set.  These things have all happened to completely trash the idea and concept of “television set faith”.  (hoping what’s in my brain is coming out in words here)  Life is not a Mad Lib where God has erased the blanks, only to fill in the words with “Jesus”, “Christian”, and “Love”.

No, what has happened here is much more dramatic and transformational.  Jesus Christ HAS BEEN declared Lord over all things.  We have been given the opportunity and resource to live as transformed citizens, declaring His Lordship.  Not in way that seeks to maximize marketing potential, and makes sure the word “Christian” always has above an 80% approval rating and plenty in savings.  But in a way that loves all people/God’s creation sacrificially.  That puts others needs before our own.  That lives in such a way that the world looks at us and scratches their head, saying “These people do not make sense.  You can’t continue down that road and survive financially or relationally.”

God has not called us to unplug from the world and create a God-sourced version of the same worldly pursuits.  God calls us to be completely reborn as New Creations, and citizens of His Kingdom.  What does that look like?  Check the Beatitudes for a pretty good start…:)  They’re in Matthew chapter 5..

 

We’ve heard that phrase from our 2 year old, probably about 20 times a day. Whenever something goes wrong, or someone gets hurt, or she falls down – we hear “that’s okay!”  (for incredibly cute video evidence, click here)  So I should have known this morning, when my plans for them fell apart, she’d be the first to reassure me.

I had today off, so we decided last minute, as we danced to Christmas music in the living room in our PJ’s – today would be a great day to visit our local Children’s Museum! It didn’t take long for all 3 girls to be ready, even with socks and shoes on (a big deal in our barefoot-lovin’ house). We head out the door, and drove across town, talking about our favorite parts of the museum.

We got all 3 girls out of the minivan, across the bare parking lot, and to the front door before daddy read the sign – “Monday – Closed”. Cue the depressed music. But I wasn’t giving up without a fight. There was a donut shop on that side of town that I’d never been to, and figured the girls would love checking out with me. So off we went, with promises of fresh baked donut-goodness in our minds. We found a parking spot very close in the tiny strip-mall, and were crushed a second time when we saw all the lights off, and the “OPEN” sign as dark as a cloudy winters eve.

“I’m sorry girls, it just doesn’t seem like things are working out for us today.” I said, as we loaded back into the minivan. The older two had just climbed in, and I was lifting our 2-year old into her seat, when she smiled at me. She must have sensed my disappointment, and immediately said “It’s okay daddy!”. Her sisters chimed in with the same, and our 5 year old said “Daddy, how about you surprise us with something new. And DON’T tell us until we are there, okay?”

The morning was redeemed with some great family time, stopping by the new thrift store and “shopping” (spending a whole $6, and getting shirts, dancing outfits, moving/talking ponies and more!), off to the bakery for a 75 cent cookie, and to Kroger together for some lunchmeat to take home! What a great trip together!

Sometimes God reassures us in unexpected ways. Sometimes it’s a giant, trumpet-blasting event, like the coming Christ-child. But other times, it’s the whisper and smile of a 2 year old in her puffy winter coat saying “it’s okay, daddy”…