Laced With Grace

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

Paul is telling us in the book of Philippians to not get anxious about anything, but find peace in Him. It is easier said than done. Especially as we are approaching the busy season of Advent and Christmas. We lose the focus on the things that are truly important. We stress over the perfect set dinner table, the perfect gift for a loved one or friend.

When I look back at my childhood, things seemed more peaceful then they are today. I don’t know if I see it through different eyes? Are our lives more busy today? My mom was always prepared for the Advent season. She had everything planned out. Every year went like clockwork. She started to buy her Christmas presents right after my birthday in September. We started to bake Christmas cookies at the beginning of November. We even made our Advent wreath at home. Advent was a peaceful time when I grew I up. I don’t know where I went wrong? I always buy my gifts last minute, I don’t bake my Christmas cookies, and I purchase a store-made Advent wreath.

This year, I will do things differently. I was glad when I found the wonderful family devotion called “The Glorious Coming”, written by Ann Voskamp. You see, my mom’s secret was that it was not about her or gift-giving or setting the perfect dinner table. It was about peace. A peace that only can come from Him. Finally, after many years of failure, I see where I went wrong. I didn’t start with the Centerpiece of Advent – I put Him at the end. I suppose it is never too late to make changes. And maybe I can figure out how to make my own Advent wreath this year…

As you are moving through the Advent season this year, try to put the Centerpiece at the beginning of each day. Find peace in Him. I can’t promise you that your days will be less busy, but I know that your days will be more peaceful.

Lord of Heaven and Earth. We ask you this morning to make your presence know among us. Lord give us Your peace this season of Advent. Help us to make You our Centerpiece. We pray this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen

“One of the essential building blocks of spiritual growth is fellowship with other believers by becoming part of a local church…..The church provides you with spiritual instruction from God’s Word, allows you to worship God with other believers, enables you to use your God-given gifts and abilities as God intended, and makes you accountable to spiritual leadership.” Greg Laurie, General Editor, New Believer’s Bible

A few months ago, this important building block of spiritual growth in my life, toppled over. As of yet, I have been unable to put it right. It isn’t that I haven’t been to church in the past few months. It is just that I haven’t found a church that I can call “home”. I have been perplexed at the difficulty that this search has precipitated. I thought it would be an easy task….and it is not. So all I want to do is go back to my old church. Yet, I am uncertain as to what is stopping me from doing just that.

So I got to thinking….what is it exactly that we should look for in a church?

Acts 2:42 defines church as joining with other believers and devoting ourselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and prayer. I found this in my old church. I miss joining with other believers, whether I knew them by name or not, in fellowship, praise and worship and in prayer. Hebrews 10:25 instructs us to “not neglect our meeting together”. Yet, I can feel the effects that this neglect is having in my life.

“As Christians, we need a place where we can be encouraged in our faith and be reminded that we are a member of God’s family….Being in the presence of other believers can encourage us to live for Christ, as well as give us a sense of belonging and acceptance that we don’t receive from the world.” Although there were times when I felt as though I were invisible, I have never experienced as much spiritual growth as when I was attending my old church.

Many of the more recent churches I have visited didn’t seem to have a need for me. In my old church it seemed that there was always a need for service..somewhere….this was where I had discovered my gift of serving. According to Ephesians 4:11-13, “And Christ gave gifts to people – he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people. Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a mature person, growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection”.

So why don’t I return to my old church? My daughter is not comfortable in their middle school church. Yet, I am not comfortable in any of the other churches that we have visited in our area. I pray there is a church out there for me and my family. I need the church and the church needs me.

How about you? Are you struggling with what to look for in a church? Are your serving needs met in one and your thirst being quenched in another? Is one more traditional and you like to practiacally light your Bic while singing joyfully unto the Lord? So it is with me.

Oh Heavenly Father, I just can’t get enough spiritual input from reading Christian books or watching church on television. I need to have the fellowship of other believers. I pray that you guide your sheep that are lost in this quest for a church home. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

As we head into the Christmas season, I like to take time to remember a few things that the “commercial Christmas” just doesn’t get…

The Christmas story is amazing. Not that God sent His Son (that does amaze me) – but that the second Person of the Trinity – Almighty God! came to earth in a “great descent”

The timing and circumstances of the greatest event in history are amazing also.

The world that Jesus was born into was under the thumb of the Roman Empire. There had been great turmoil for centuries, but only a few decades before the birth of Jesus, the Empire entered a time of relative peace, “pax Romana”. Roads were built and travel was, for the most part, safe – travel was safer than it had been in recent times.
Jesus came to earth knowing that He would die a shameful death, but the life that Jesus was born into was as shameful as the death that He died. The “birthing room” was more of a cave and the “manger” was probably more like a hole in the ground.

Why is this important? Because Christ started His human life in the same way that we do. The Son became human and in His humanity became our complete connection to God. Christ is our only mediator; we need no other. He is the bridge that spans the gulf between us and God.
Through Christ, there is a radical redemption. Redemption, like in a pawnshop; we were trapped in sin and Christ came to redeem that which was His.

And, through Christ, we are like Mary. Like Mary (a peasant girl) it makes no difference to God what our background is.
Like Mary, when the Holy Spirit does His work in our lives, the seed is in us. We, like Mary, become a miraculous vessel of the message of salvation.

The story of the babe is followed by the story of salvation. And we, the body of Christ, are a part of it.

Let us remember, this Christmas season, that we carry the seed. The seed (the story of salvation) that we plant will be watered by another.

The story of the babe in the manger is the perfect time to plant that seed.