I was invited to write an Advent devotional for my school’s diversity council.
The Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary Southeast Diversity Council seeks to cultivate an atmosphere that invites, welcomes, and supports underrepresented students, faculty, and staff.
If you are following the Advent Calendar, we are tracking along in Love week.
“When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. “
Luke 2:15-20
“Mary had a baby
Yes Lord
Mary had a baby
Yes my Lord
Mary had a baby
Yes Lord, thepeople keep a comin’ and the train done gone.”
-Negro Spiritual
I am always so encouraged when I take the time to consider how God makes Himself known to us. For me, songs like the one above, with the comforting rhythm of call and response, is a way of making God’s story known to me. The rhythmic telling of the Nativity story, set to music, is not only a reminder of God’s loving act inthe Incarnation, but also how I, like the shepherds in the passage, tell others of His wondrous love.
When I think about the shepherds in this passage, I am also encouraged. Human categories of wealth and status don’t matter to God. The announcement of Love coming down was first shared with simple working people. In response, like in the song, thepeople kept a comin’. Also, wise men—learnedindividuals led by the science of astronomy, who had access to power and wealth —traveled a great distance to find the King of the Jews and worship Him. Again, thepeople kept a comin’. You and I, just like the shepherds and the wise men, we come as well. Why? Because He first loved us and demonstrated His love by dwelling among us, bearing our burdens, and making the ultimate sacrifice of love for our salvation. It’s no wonder that through thecenturies, as the story of Love continues to be told, thepeoplekeep a comin’.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been:- predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee] of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
What happens when outside influences make you and I believe that it is all riding on us? What happens when we believe that our health, peace of mind, and our futures all depend on what we can accomplish, perform, or purchase? My stomach is in knots just thinking about carrying such a burden. In Ephesus during the time the letter to the Ephesians was written, the influence of Greek thought and culture colored every aspect of life. Nowhere was that influence more apparent than in the worship of their pagan gods. Artemis, the Greek goddess of fertility and the most worshipped deity in the region, had an enormously spectacular temple dedicated to her in Ephesus. Followers of Artemis sincerely believed that avoiding illness, ensuring a bountiful harvest, completing a voyage safely, getting rich, or attracting a desirable lover depended on what they could do for her. The person needing the goddess to make a move on their behalf would make a vow to pay the goddess back when she gave them favor. I can’t begin to imagine the stress of what it must have felt like when prayers were unanswered. A person might go into debt, endure strange rituals, or work themselves to the bone in order to curry favor with an idol made of silver. People desperate for answers not only looked to Artemis for their daily deliverances, they were also big believers in magic and the occult. Again, we see the people’s attempts to DO something to move the supernatural to work on their behalf.
As I write these words I find myself relating to the Ephesians in that I catch myself from time to time trying to manipulate God and orchestrate life to my liking. I am embarrassed to admit how many times I have wanted God to move in a particular way and was “extra spiritual”, going out of my way to do good works for the Lord. Then later, send up self serving prayers with the hope that my good works would somehow convince God to “hook a sister up.”
It is such an encouragement to my soul that the thing that grants me the immense privilege of a guaranteed heavenly inheritance is as simple as a heartfelt, “yes” to God. Paul writes that when you and I hear the word of truth and believe, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. The word sealed, or sphragizō in Greek means to be made immediately authentic. This powerful truth of being sealed unto God by a simple act of faith was compelling to the Ephesians who worshipped silver figurines that could neither hear their prayers, nor show compassion. I imagine the guarantee that Christ offers was welcome to those souls burdened with trying to manipulate and maneuver in order to find favor with their gods. No wonder why new converts in Ephesus who once owned books of magic spells burned them publicly as a demonstration of the depth of their new faith (Acts 19). When we believe, and are sealed with the Holy Spirit, it guarantees us an inheritance we did not deserve and could never earn through our own efforts. No magic, no incantations, nor spells are needed. Instantly we belong to the family of faith.
My question for you: How have you experienced relief by knowing you have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit?
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Cor 10:3-5
One morning as I was getting ready for work, I got a text message notification from my husband. ba-ding! I looked down fully expecting it to be a note telling me to make sure the coffee maker is unplugged. He sends the same text every day.
But that morning, his message made my stomach do flips – “The gift looks good on you.”
I was confused at first. Gift? He didn’t give me any gift. What was he talking about??? Then I stopped and stared at my horrified reflection in the mirror.
In my family multiple divorces and extended singlehood among the women were common. I myself struggled with unwanted singlehood until my late 30’s. I thought a generational curse of marital dysfunction and infidelity had followed me into my marriage. I wondered if I had heard God wrong about marrying this man (we were only two years into our marriage at that point). I wondered if my lack of experience and family history had caused me to fail as a wife. Mocking voices began telling me that there are no good men out there, and that my marriage was at risk. So in the stillness of the morning as I stared horrified in the mirror, anger, hurt rage, and betrayal began to bubble up into a hot knot in my throat.
But praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit who reminds us of scripture. “Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end” – Proverbs 29:11
God reminded me of that 2nd Corinthians passage above to take every thought captive. Every thought. Thoughts of inadequacy. Thoughts of hurt. Thoughts of anger. Everything. Then, we are to demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Knowledge that He is good, and that He has a hope and a future for us.
In the passage, Paul was talking about people that were stirring up dissension in the church. In my bathroom that morning, the enemy was trying to stir up dissension in my mind, making me want to doubt God’s blessing on my marriage and in my life. I had to remind myself that I have chosen to break generational curses, and any power they might have over me. I have chosen to join myself to this man. And, most importantly, I have chosen to trust God with my marriage.
So, trusting the Holy Spirit to soothe my soul and keep me sane no matter the outcome. I picked up my phone and texted him back – “Huh?” It was all I could muster.
The minute and a half I waited for his response seemed like an eternity.
His response: “It’s a song, never mind.”
I nearly shouted LIAR!!!!!!!! There is no song like that. I immediately Googled “the gift looks good on you song lyrics.”
You know what I found? A YouTube clip of a cute, upbeat song…
Hallelujah!!!!!!!! My husband wasn’t a philandering, no good piece of dirt. He was a wonderful godly man choosing to edify his wife! Relief poured out of my eyes in big fat tears and I praised God. I praised Him for the Holy Spirit that reminded me to put a check on my feelings and on my tongue.
What if I had flown into a rage and said all kinds of accusatory and hurtful things to him. What if by doing that I actually planted seeds of infidelity in his mind? By taking my thoughts captive, it didn’t mean I ignored my hurt and confusion. I submitted those thoughts to Christ so I could function. Letting Him bear that burden so I could hear Him in the midst of my emotions.
The totally vegan, gluten free, low sodium, fat free meal. What? Exactly. This is terribly frustrating, especially when food has the capacity to taste so good. Have you ever felt like you are under attack in this area? Ready for some encouragement? You are. Awesome!
This is no wacky conspiracy theory. Just look at the science in the links above. When I think about this from a spiritual perspective, it makes me angry. The enemy is using everything at his disposal, even our biological need to eat, to trip us up and put us in bondage. In this case it is bondage to poor health. He is using corporate motivation for profit to fuel his attack. Food companies pour millions of dollars into research and development to produce the most delectable, tasty, yummy deliciousness possible. I won’t go as far to say that they hijack our brain chemistry for their own profits on purpose, but… who knows?
So what can we do now that we know this information? We can get an understanding out our biology. We can make practical food choices that engage our senses. We can honor our bodies and care for the environment by eating local. We can do this in ways that make sense for our families and our pocketbooks, but we do have to be an active participant in the process.
I want to hear from you. How have you taken charge of your health with better eating habits? What pocket friendly ways of healthier eating work for you and your family? Meet me on my Facebook page to join the conversation. See you there!
Sometimes prayer can be overwhelming. We don’t know where to begin, or what words to say. We have groanings in our spirit too deep for words that only the Spirit can understand. Have you ever just not prayed when you felt this way? I have. Feeling like I must have words to attach to my feelings in order to make God understand makes God small. He is the Lord of all. He knows our hearts.
When we can’t find the words, sometimes an activity can help us focus and express our thoughts. This iscalled active meditation. Now don’t freak out at the word meditation, I’m not going woo-woo on you. Ever heard of a prayer walk? Same concept. For me, coloring allows me to wordlessly express my yearning for peace and beauty – what I look for when I connect with God. By coloring I put myself in a meditative or prayerful state, God does the rest. He calms me and restores my soul, just as described by David who wrote Psalm 23 (who incidentally prayed through music and singing of songs).
Coloring for adults has been rapidly gaining in popularity. As of this morning, four books on Amazon’s top 20 best seller list are coloring books. I got mine from a local bookstore as I was preparing myself for my first infusion treatment for Crohn’s disease. I was terrified. I didn’t know what to expect. I knew I needed something that would take my mind off of the nurses, needles, and the drug being pumped into me over a 3 hour period. When I sat in the chair, I took out my coloring book and pencils and began to focus on beauty and serenity. God met me there, and I am grateful.
Have you tried coloring as a meditation or prayer? Pop over to my facebook page and post your pictures, I’d love to see some of your work.
