The threat of snowfall and ice used to be the only things that might prevent a church from gathering--and then, only if you lived in the deep south! But the wide-spread mess that is Covid has forced those in church leadership to monitor not only the Weather Channel but also the weekly reports from the Department of Public Health.
Full disclosure: Pastors (and other church leaders) despise having to make these types of calls--because it often feels like a No-Win decision. Worship Gatherings are vital to the spiritual health of people and so when we cancel a service, it is always (and I really do mean always) after considerable prayer and with great reluctance, and not (and I really do mean not) from a position of fear. However, there are times when the wisest decision is to take a week away from gathering in-person. This is one of those times. After seeking the counsel of our Leadership Board, staff and key volunteers, we have decided to cancel our in-person gathering on January 2. However, I (John) will share a message live on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. I want to ask that if at all possible, you join me at that time so even if we won't be face-to-face, we can be together in spirit. I am excited to begin sharing what I sense God's direction for us, The Stone Church, is for 2022. Thank you for being a strong church who trusts us to lead as we all follow Jesus! I am truly grateful for your strong support and encouragement even when we have to make difficult decisions! Grace and Peace.
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Disclaimer: As you may know, there is no mention of an inn keeper in Scripture--only that there was no room in the inn. So the story below is simply an "imagine-if-tion" of that moment in time. Maybe it will encourage you to see it through fresh eyes.
She’d just nudged the last few sheep and a young colt in the livery under her living quarters, turned the key and locked the door. This stable-under-the-house design, though perhaps a bit smelly, kept thieves from breaking in and stealing the little she had. Stopping to put away the last few things she looked up into the vibrant night sky. Millions of stars--as numerous as grains of sand on the seashore. Brilliant. Beautiful. Amazing. And yet, she felt so small. Insignificant. Forgotten. Maybe even invisible. Her name was Rahab—named for her distant relative from the double-walled city of Jericho, who had hidden two Israelite spies under the drying flax on her roof. That Rahab! The one who was called an “innkeeper” but who was really a prostitute. The harlot turned heroine who courageously hung a scarlet cord from her window, as instructed by those Israelite spies to insure she and her family would be spared. The Rahab, who gave birth to a son named Boaz who married Ruth who became the great-grandmother of King David. That Rahab was the woman for whom she was named. At times, when things were quiet at night, she wished that she were more like that Rahab. She could certainly use some of her courage, but the truth was she was barely surviving. She lived on the edge—the edge of survival, the edge of community, the edge of a nowhere town--the last “inn” on the road—the edge of life. She shivered, pulled her coat tightly around her neck and carefully climbed the rickety ladder to her living quarters. Alone. After straightening her pallet, she lay down and pulled the covers up snug. Finally, she would rest. She was hungry but the pangs would eventually pass—they always did. Fortunately sleep came quickly to Rahab until… A quiet knock at the door awakened her. Did she just imagine that noise or had something startled the animals? Her exhausted eyes closed…it was probably nothing. Then she heard it again—a gentle knock—a little more urgent. “Hello? Is there someone there?” Rahab called out hesitantly. “Yes,” came a calm male voice. “I’m looking for a place to stay the night…for my…for my wife and me,” he said with a worried glance at Mary. Rahab called down: “I’ve not got a guest room—there’s just enough room for me. I’m sorry. I really am.” Rahab lay quiet. What could she do—she had nothing to offer. “Do you know of anything? Mary, my wife, is in pain and needs a place to lie down. She is laboring with child. We’re desperate.” Rahab was still. Surely they would walk away. “Hello? Miss?” They hadn’t left. Rahab stared at the roof made of flax and thought of “Grandmother Rahab” and then she heard a small voice in her spirit say: “What about the stable? You have a stable.” “Hel…” “I’m coming,” she interrupted. She opened the door and she couldn’t believe what she saw—the time was now! “Thank you,” whispered the man as he helped the young woman through the gate. “You are very kind.” Rahab lowered her head and said, “I’m embarrassed to even show you this, but it is all I have,” as she removed the key from her pocket, unlocked the gate and entered the manger. As the door swung open the pregnant woman, obviously in pain, caught her eye, smiled and mouthed the words, “May the Lord bless you.” Rahab’s heart stuttered. Who are these people? She was glad she had gotten up to help. Do you have room for Jesus in your "inn" today? The fact that you've read this far says you're heart is open! Immanuel.
God. With. Us. What a gift! "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." Ephesians 1:3-10 The story of Jesus is everywhere! Wait for it…
We are not a people who like to wait. Yet waiting is a vital discipline of spiritual growth and maturity. Israel anticipated and waited for the Messiah for generations. Just a few days after the birth of Jesus, Luke introduces us to two Israelites who had waited their entire lives for the long awaited Messiah. Simeon and Anna waited with confident expectation upon Yahweh for this moment. And when Jesus' parents brought him to the temple on the eighth day Simeon's and Anna's hopes were realized! Luke 2:25 (Simeon) Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. Luke 2:38 (Anna) And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. How does Scripture instruct us to wait? We wait quietly, silently, and patiently! Lamentations 3:25-26 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Psalm 62:1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. Psalm 62:5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. Knowing that waiting is a position of strength not weakness! Psalm 31:24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord! When everything in you says—"get moving, you got things to do—you’re behind", then perhaps the best thing you can do is the contrary…stop and wait. When we start running ahead of God we begin to take short-cuts that short-circuit and compromise our values and His Way. We settle for less than His best. Acknowledging that waiting may be more emotional and last longer than expected Psalm 69:3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. Recognizing that waiting clarifies/ intensifies our hope! Psalm 39:7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Waiting matures us. Waiting trains us. Waiting heightens our desires. Waiting raises awareness of dependence. Waiting clarifies our motives. Waiting tests and proves our commitment, devotion, and loyalty. Over the next couple of days you may see children ripping into the gifts for which they have been waiting, and when you do, REJOICE! It can be a reminder to you that great waiting leads to great joy! But quietly consider this...(without "hating on" the moment in front of you:) “Offer a young child the choice of having Daddy present Christmas morning with no gifts or having Daddy absent and a stack of gifts piled high and the child might choose the gifts. Only the mature value the blessing of presence over the blessing of presents.” (Larry Crabb, Pressures Off—p. 34) Waiting for the Lord is part of the Father’s method of eradicating our desire for blessing more than intimacy. As we mature we value presence over presents. Wait with great anticipation and confidence upon the Lord. His Presence is enough. His Grace is sufficient. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 I love the nativity scenes displayed in various places in people's homes, front yards, and even barns. They are vivid reminders of that night…that place…when silence was broken.
A manger is, as you probably know, a feeding trough used for cattle, sheep, donkeys, or horses and may have been in a cave stable or other shelter. But what you may not know is mangers were also used by shepherds to place the best lambs (the unblemished ones) reserved for sacrifice. Shepherds would typically swaddle their newborn sheep in strips of linen—sometimes provided to them by the priests—so that the lambs would remain calm and unhurt. The most common usage for thee lambs that were born in Bethlehem was that they were destined to become Passover lambs. Is it simply coincidence that Jesus was born in a place used for birthing sacrificial lambs and wrapped in a swaddling cloth or was Someone Greater sovereignly in control from since before the creation of the world? The unblemished Lamb of God, the Son of Favor, from the line of David, born in Bethlehem, in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes. Thirty-three years later on the night he was betrayed he would remove his outer garment and wrap the servant’s towel around his waist—humbly and lovingly washing the disciples feet. The next day Joseph of Aramethea would wrap him in a linen burial cloth. But on the third day Peter would run to the tomb and find the cloth folded up—the work complete! But it gets even better! Have you seen what John saw and described in detail from the Revelation? He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. Revelation 19:13-14 As we ponder that night and that place over the next few days perhaps we can see beyond the images frozen in time. Perhaps we can see that in that moment all of time coming together. It is the point on which the ancient past and prophecies was fulfilled…it is the point where all the hopes of our distant (or not so distant) future is anchored. A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:12 (The Message) Do you sometimes feel like one of the toys left on the Island of Misfit toys--
Charlie in the Box A train with square wheels A water gun that only shoots jelly… Do you sing the song: “Why am I such a misfit? Why am I such a nit wit?” If you’ve ever had to change schools in the middle of the school year, moved to another state, started a new job working for a new boss, you know a bit what it’s like to feel like a misfit. If you’ve travelled to another region of our country or even to a different nation, you know what its like to be a misfit. You don’t know the unspoken rules and the culture of your new home. The insiders, the fit-ins, look at you funny when you speak. They squint their eyes at your outfits, and smirk at your expense. People can even feel like a misfit when they attend a church. Often, the most difficult step a person takes in coming to church is the step out of their vehicle toward the building. Why? They don’t know if they’ll fit in or not. Will they sound silly? Did they wear the right thing? Will they escape with their dignity? We are the Messiah’s Misfits! It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We’re something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We’re the Messiah’s misfits. 1 Cor. 4:9 How are we expecting the Messiah/ the Savior to come to us? Do we look for a king (president) to overthrow our government and our twisted policies? Do we look for a prophet or priest with a huge personality to come and correct all the wrong-headedness and set things aright? Are we looking for a savior to come and clean up our messes, fix our lives so that this life works and I can triumph now? Could it be that the Messiah has come, Immanuel has come, God with Us has come—in the midst of your mess—and you’re missing Him because he isn’t what you expected? You expected him to swoop in and fix your life and yet that’s not what’s happened. You expected him to come and heal all your hurts and stop the tears, but that’s not what’s happened...yet! Could it be that you are missing Immanuel (God with you) because you’ve been expecting something or someone other than Jesus, the Messiah? Over the next few days push away the clamor of the world and take some time to ponder and treasure Jesus—the unfolding story of a Messiah whose promised birth turned out exactly like it had been told and whose return will turn out exactly as it has been told. Let us ponder and treasure Him. He came so that we who are unfit for kingdom life could be made fit. Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Psalm 96:1-2 I love that you can create your own soundtrack (playlist) on Spotify because you can listen to and sing the songs you like the most this time of year without having to endure some that you don't like as much. Tracie recently created one she entitled, "Christmas Fun" and it is full of classic Christmas songs, most that have been rearranged (made new) by some of our favorite artists. (There's a link to that Playlist at the bottom.) It's been fun to listen and sing along with these songs as we do things around the house this week leading up to December 25!
I'm embarrassed to admit this, but there are days (and even longer) when I find myself stuck in the mire of life. Two steps forward, two steps backward. Gray. Dull. Cold. These are words that describe my heart not just the weather! Same ol' song and dance. If I'm honest I was feeling that way a bit this morning when I opened up the Psalms and read 94:1-2 and reminded to "sing to the Lord a new song!" You see, when I'm singing the same old song, I'm probably focused on my circumstances rather than on the truth of Jesus. If I tell you, “Do not think about your Christmas tree,” the first and probably only thing you’re going to think about is--your Christmas tree. You won’t be able to take your eyes off of it. You’ll look at the ornaments and the pinecones. You might think about the pros and cons of artificial versus real trees. But you will think about the Christmas tree. Unless I say, “Don’t think about the Christmas tree, instead think about manger scene.” Now, your focus isn’t on the tree it’s on the stable. You may have a momentary slip when you glance at the tree but you can realign your attention fairly quickly if you know what you are supposed to be focused upon. In these next several days leading up to Christmas Day don't you want to sing a new song to the Lord with your heart and life. Don't you want to sing a song that exalts his Name and lifts your spirit. Me too. Here's the link to "Christmas Fun" if you'd like to listen: open.spotify.com/playlist/31P4U24yCYG0b4tC04Hq5s?si=b0e53ea1033a4649 |
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