George Frideric Handel: Sure of one’s faith

Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever. King of kings, Lord of lords. Revelation 19:6, 11:15, 19:16

“What a wonderful thing it is to be sure of one’s faith! How wonderful to be a member of the evangelical church, which preaches the free grace of God through Christ as the hope of sinners! If we were to rely on our works – my God, what would become of us?”

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) as recounted in The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations, comp. M. Water (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000) 84.

This Advent season Jenni and I are privileged to attend a performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Sydney Opera House (pictured above from the Manly Ferry). We are going tonight with dear friends Gary and Debbie Williams of CMA and Steve and Kate Kerr of CMASC. Of course, the Scriptures above serve as the text of the famous song,”Hallelujah Chorus”.

In his own words, Handel describes the foundation for his joy. His assurance of salvation finds deep roots in the grace of God through Christ and not in his works. This testimony serves as an unforgettable reminder for us as we anticipate the performance. Our generous works are not for us. The performance of them does nothing to attain salvation. We do them so the world sees Jesus.

Be more generous than you have ever been this Advent season because of your confidence in your faith in Christ and so that the world sees Jesus through your generosity. In observance, may they too stand and proclaim, “Hallelujah!”

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

“Jesus wishes us to pay heed to the delight that there is in the blessed Trinity about our salvation, and that we should long to have as much spiritual pleasure, through His grace…

Our pleasure in our salvation should be like the joy that Christ has in our salvation, as much as that may be whilst we are here. All the Trinity was at work in the Passion of Christ, ministering abundance of virtues and plenitude of grace to us through Him, but only the Virgin’s son suffered; and at this the whole blessed Trinity rejoices eternally.

And this was shown in these words, ‘Are you well pleased?’, and by the other words that Christ said, ‘If you are pleased, then I am pleased’ — as if He said, ‘It is joy and delight enough to die, and I ask nothing else from you for my suffering but that I may please you.’

And in this, He brought to mind the character of a glad giver: a glad giver pays little attention to what he is giving, but his whole desire and his whole intention is to please and comfort the one to whom he is giving it; and if the recipient accepts the gift appreciatively and gratefully, then the courteous giver thinks nothing of all his expense and all his trouble because of the joy and delight that he feels at having pleased and comforted the one that he loves.”

Julian of Norwich (1342-1416), an anchoress, in Revelations of Divine Love (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015) 71.

I’ve been overwhelmed with expressions of love for my birthday from so many glad givers. Thank you!

As this is the second week of Advent, let us consider the love of God revealed to us in Christ Jesus. Few describe it like an anchoress! An anchoress was a woman who lived with simplicity so she could dedicate her bandwidth to helping people anchor their lives to Jesus (which is precisely the ministry of my wife, Jenni, today)!

In Revelations of Divine Live, Julian helps us discover that Jesus is the model for what it means to be a glad giver. He willingly gave His life for us, and we should have the same mindset “whist we are here” (cf. Philippians 2:1-11). Will you be a “glad giver” in the limited time you walk this earth?

Notice that glad givers pay little attention to what they are giving, their whole desire and intention is to please and comfort the recipient. They think nothing of the expense and the trouble in giving because they remember that Jesus gave His life for us because He loves us! Make it so of us, Lord Jesus, so people see Your love through our joyful giving!

Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

“When you are beginning to be old, and I am beginning to be old, for I am fifty, both times and places no longer take on the same meaning. Do I have a “day”? Do I spend my “day” in a “place”?”

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) in A Year with Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Journals (New York: HarperCollins, 2004) 129.

I read this quote months ago in this daily devotional and thankfully managed to locate it online from Australia. Yes, today’s my birthday. I am 50 years old and filled with gratitude for so many things, most of all, the grace and love of Christ. Week two of Advent points us to the love of Christ, so let’s not allow my birthday distract from the profound meaning of this post.

In our younger years (largely in ignorance), we act like we have a never ending supply of days. We also dream about having our own place (on earth) and work tirelessly to try to acquire it. Then at some point we realize our time is better spent living every day for Christ and waiting to see the place He is preparing for each of us. It took me many years to figure this out.

Today Jenni and I are facilitating a retreat in the Blue Mountains (pictured above). I never dreamed we’d travel so much. Sometimes it’s tiring, but we’ve learned to enjoy the journey because we are all travelers, and this world is not our home. As we possess neither days nor places, the best thing we can do is make the most of every day and live for God wherever He leads us.

He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. John 1:11

“In Advent, the Christian community sees the beloved arrive at the window…He came to His own, and His own received Him not. Well, again He comes. And again. He is all around to be seen, to be welcomed, to be fed and clothed, to be cared for and protected…

What good news have we for the poor in our society who cry out in their misery or boredom? If the coming of Christ brings a message for the bereaved, the jobless, the discarded and retarded, is the Christian church announcing a message to them? Is the company of His disciples incarnate, as the Lord was?

…The spirit of Advent is one of generosity, of giving in return for, in thanksgiving for, the gift we have joyfully received, and that is the Lord God of hosts in physical shape. God is as close to the world as a handshake is. Truly Emmanuel. The Lord has wished to offer humanity a sign of peace.”

Thomas McCarthy in “The Spirit of Advent” in Celebrating the Season of Advent, edited by Eltin Griffin (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1986) 4-5.

My challenge to the church this Advent, to readers everywhere, is to incarnate or take the physical shape of Jesus. We celebrate the incarnation of the Christ of Christmas with thanksgiving and joy, but do we demonstrate our love and obedience by being His hands and feet to minster to those around us?

I scheduled a phone meeting with an Aussie yesterday afternoon because he could not meet on Tuesday morning as He serves the homeless every Tuesday morning. That convicted me to schedule time to serve others who cannot help themselves. What would it look like for you to take physical shape among the broken?

Over the next three days, Jenni and I will lead a retreat for the staff of Christian Super. This staff works diligently to serve about 25,000 followers of Christ. As we take physical shape among them, pray that the spiritual exercises we have planned will result in staff enrichment that launches them to live, give, serve, and love like Jesus.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

“Your call to me these days, Lord God, is not so much to wallow in nostalgia, to break out in a sudden rash of generosity and gift giving, to get all caught up in the rituals with candles, incense, and the like. You invite me to entrust myself, to place my story within Yours, to set my future firm beside the manger where Your Son may claim it for His own.”

J. Barrie Shepherd in A Child Is Born: Meditations for Advent and Christmas (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1988) 37.

As we focus on love in week two of Advent we come to grips with the reality that we must set our plans for our future beside the manger, realizing our story only has meaning when located within the story of Jesus Christ. If that sounds too lofty, consider this idea in plain terms.

If your Advent is a “sudden rash of generosity and gift giving” and you are all “caught up in the rituals” then your Christmas will be empty. Such people just consume the gospel rather than find life in it. This is not an insignificant point, but rather a common trend in consumeristic America.

Here in Australia, similar distractions are present, however, the situation differs a bit since Christmas comes during Summer break. Down under, the weather is just heating up so the holiday can easily become about getting out and having personal experiences focused on self rather than on the birth of the Savior.

Wherever we find ourselves on this planet, if we set our stories beside the manger, which means to find them as part of God’s story, we find life and continue to do good and live generously long after the holiday is over. God invites all of us to find our future in the Christ of Christmas. Will you?

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test Him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do. Philip answered Him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Another of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. John 6:5-11

“The world likes things to be large, big, impressive, and elaborate. God chooses the small things which are overlooked in the big world. Andrew’s remark, “five barley loaves and two fish are simply not enough.” But for Jesus they were enough….Jesus distributed the loaves and the fish “as much as they wanted”…There is enough plenty for everyone — there are even many leftovers. Here a great mystery becomes visible. What little we give away multiplies. This is the way of God. This is also the way we are called to live our lives. The little love we have, the little knowledge we have, the little advice we have, the little possessions we have, are given to us as gifts of God to be given away. The more we give them away, the more we discover how much there is to give away.”

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) in The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey (New York: Doubleday, 1990) 170-171.

Advent begins with anticipation. Our focus is hope. Today marks the start of the second week. Our thinking shifts to consider the love of Christ.

In today’s Scripture reading Jesus performs a miracle known widely as the feeding of the 5,000. As the account unfolds, the thinking of the disciples seems deeply rooted in scarcity, which is the framework of the economy of this world. With the miracle, Jesus illustrates the abundance mentality that characterizes the economy of God.

What does this have to do with Advent as we move into week two today? As Nouwen put it, “Here a great mystery becomes visible.”

At Christmas time, the world celebrates things that are “large, big, impressive, and elaborate” and the baby born in the manger arrived in lowly, humble fashion. He loves us so much that He did not send help, He came. And He showed us that “what little we give away multiplies” with this miracle. Soon He will give away His life, which will become salvation for the whole world.

Likewise, you and I represent His hands and feet. We must not focus on what we don’t have, but we must be generous with what little knowledge, advice, possessions, and love that we do have.

“The more we give them away, the more we discover how much there is to give away.” We don’t end up empty, but rather, enriched. We won’t find ourselves destitute, but instead we realize our role as distributors. The only way this happens is if we chose the way of God shown to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. There’s no better time to get on this path than Advent. The way of love is the only way to live!

“I have made no trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.”

So Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.

Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed. 1 Kings 18:18-24

“All of Advent, in the nave and the sanctuary, in the arching dome of a longing heart, it rises like a winding ribbon of incense: “Come, let us adore Him.” Let us leave the wrapping and the decking and the performing and come, awe at God. Your hands need not bring anything of your own making. What God wants for Christmas is simply your bended knee.

They say when you waver between two opinions, between two gods, the literal Hebrew word for wavering means sinking. It’s our wavering between the gods of things and the God of everything – that’s what has us flailing and drowning soundless in it all.

We were made to worship – our internal circuitry wired to worship. Every moment you live, you live bowed to something. And if you don’t choose God, you’ll bow down before something else – some banal Baal. Baal isn’t the name of one particular god; it’s the name of any generic god.

Elijah confronted the people about their wavering, their sinking between the God of Abraham and the Baal of rain. And for us, too, there are other Baals that can be our sinking. The Baal of success and the Baal of Pinterest, the Baal of Perfection, and the Baal of affirmation.

It’s always Baals that keep us from God, the Baal of work and agenda and accomplishment that keep us from prayer. We don’t pray enough only when we are practicing idol worship. You can see how it goes – how there at the altars the Baal worshipers danced for rain. They strove and they flailed and they kept focused on trying to get all the steps just perfectly right – and that is how you ultimately know.

You know you have an idol when you have to perform. You know you have a Baal that needs to be cut down whenever you cut yourself down. Whenever you slash yourself, you have an idol that needs to be slashed down. Because that is what every idol ultimately wants: to make your blood run wild and dance you mad and drive you right into the unforgiving ground. Every idol wants you to be cut open for it.

But if you slow down and still and wait, Advent whispers to you: there is one God who was cut open for you. He let His blood run so you can stop running…Jesus, the Gift, comes to give you freely through His passion what every other god forces you to get through your performance…let everything go. And kneel…O come, let us adore Him…”

Ann Voskamp in The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas (Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2013) 147-150.

Advent is a time to stop wavering and declare our allegiance to Christ. Perhaps go for a walk to get perspective. Jenni and I shot this header photo on the coastal walk in Sydney, Australia, on which we talked about how we want to make prayer a deeper part of our lives in this next year. We will assuredly need to set aside other things to do this. It’s means tearing down any Baals.

Are there any Baals in your life that need to be cut down? In this time of preparation, get rid of whatever makes you perform. This will change your life and your generosity because only those who kneel before Jesus the Gift are positioned to receive and share Him with others. Remember, He is the greatest possible Gift you could ever give another person.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:14-17

“If you have money, consider that perhaps the only reason God allowed it to fall into your hands was in order that you might find joy and perfection by giving it all away. It is easy enough to tell the poor to accept their poverty as God’s will when you yourself have warm clothes and plenty of food and medical care and a roof over your head and no worry about the rent. But if you want them to believe you – try to share some of their poverty and see if you can accept it as God’s will yourself.”

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) in New Seeds of Contemplation (New York: New Directions, 2007) 179.

During Advent most of us will see a person on the street that looks like they need clothing, food, and maybe even medical care. For James, the half brother of Jesus and the leader of the Jerusalem church, our faith is dead if it is not accompanied by care for the physical needs of such people. Some might think those are strong words but as Merton keenly put it, when we “share some of their poverty” we start to see things differently, and perhaps more Christianly.

Think of the first Christmas. There was no place for a pregnant girl and her fiancée to stay so Jesus was born among animals, wrapped in rags, and laid in a manger. He shared our poverty alright, and everywhere He went, He ministered to the destitute, the hungry, and the sick. James (and Thomas Merton long after him) are trying to shake us and wake us to live like Jesus toward the poor to show we have authentic faith. When we do we find joy and perfection.

This is why we have traveled to Australia: to talk about money from God’s perspective. Today Jenni and I speak to the board of Christian Super, whose vision is “to see people living life with financial health and understanding.” Next week we spend time with their leaders and facilitate a retreat for their staff members who serve 25,000 constituents. We will explore themes from Good and Faithful: Ten Stewardship Lessons for Everyday Living.

I also have a radio interview about this book on a Christian radio station here in Sydney later today. Pick up a copy for everyone on your Christmas list if you have not already done so. Why say all this? Sure we’d appreciate your prayers. More than that, we hope you will “find joy and perfection” in resolving to use what you have to show the world you belong to Christ this Christmas. If you know someone in need, share some of their poverty and see what happens in you.

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Matthew 8:8

“The American Declaration of Independence says we have an “unalienable right” to the pursuit of happiness. God created us to be happy and joyful in this world and the next, and Jesus says the same several times in John 14-17. The only difference between the two is that any happiness that is demanded from life never becomes happiness because it is too narcissistically and self-consciously pursued. The joy that the world cannot give always comes as a gift to those who wait for it, expect it, and make room for it inside themselves.

The first is self-assertion, the second is self-surrender. The first is taking; the second is receiving… When we set out to seek our private happiness, we often create an idol that is sure to topple. Any attempts to protect any full and private happiness in the midst of so much public suffering have to be based on illusion about the nature of the world we live in. We can only do that if we block ourselves from a certain degree of reality and refuse solidarity with “the other side” of everything, even on the other side of ourselves.

Both sides of life are good and necessary teachers; in fact, failure and mistake teach us much more than our successes. Failure and success were often called “the two hands of God” or the “paschal mystery.” It takes struggles with both our darkness and our light to form us into full children of God, but of course, we especially resist “the left hand of God” which is usually some form of suffering (read loss of control).

As in our Gospel today, it was the same suffering of the centurion’s servant that brought the centurion out of his comfortable house and that invited Jesus into that house. Suffering and solidarity with the suffering of others has an immense capacity to “make room” inside of us. It is probably our primary spiritual teacher.”

Richard Rohr in Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent (Cincinnati: Franciscan Media, 2008) 4-6.

As you are reading this Jenni and I are somewhere over the Pacific en route to Sydney, Australia. It’s a long flight from Los Angeles. We often say to each other that leaving America has been the most helpful way of seeing cultural dynamics and behavioral patterns within America.

Americans love their comfort and luxury, even if they can’t afford it. The society seems to be structured around preservation of personal happiness. This reading by Rohr helps illustrate a deep idea that we must grasp to prepare to receive the most generous gift of all time.

Again, Rohr states: “The joy that the world cannot give always comes as a gift to those who wait for it, expect it, and make room for it inside themselves.” While everyone in every country surely has their own set of challenges, we must all make room for the joy that has come into the world at Christmas.

This Advent, rather than pursuing happiness (think: trying to make everything perfect over the holidays) make room in your heart for whatever God sends your way. It may range from pure joy to “suffering and solidarity with the suffering of others.” Advent is about receiving what Christ offers; it beats anything else.

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed — a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17

Martin Luther writes: “Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that “the just shall live by his faith.” Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise.”

“In the monastery Luther had come to the end of himself. He had despaired of salvation by his own hand. But by the grace of God he did not give up his longing and his hope. He directed his attention to the one place he hoped to find help — the Bible… God prepared Luther to see the true meaning of Christ and accept it, by stirring up a deep and powerful longing in his heart for consolation and redemption that could come only from Christ.

And this is what God does again and again. He may be doing it for you this Advent season — graciously and tenderly frustrating you with life that is not centered on Christ and filling you with longings and desires that can’t find their satisfaction in what this world offers, but only in the God-man. What a Christmas gift that would be! Let all your frustrations with this world throw you onto the Word of God. It will become sweet — like walking into paradise.”

John Piper in The Dawning of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings for Advent (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014) 58-59.

I’ve been working diligently to get a number of projects completed by today as my wife and I are flying to Sydney, Australia this evening to serve Christian Super, CMASC, and CMA Australia. We’ve have a full schedule and will be down under from 6-18 December 2017.

Consequently, a few times in the last week I have been both frustrated and filled. I’ve been frustrated with circumstances that have hindered progress on my work. After pondering the situation and the need for faith in every corner of everyday life, I’ve been driven back to the Word and filled. God drove me to Luke 10:38-42.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Often, like Martha, I try to do too much. I can be “distracted by all the preparations” as Luke put it. For example, I agreed to lecture at Colorado Christian University today only hours before departing for the airport. That may not have been the best idea when they gave me four date options! Perhaps you can relate.

Pause to ponder with me. Do this to receive a generous Christmas gift from God. Abandon the frustration of trying to do too much. Instead, sit at the feet of Jesus in the Word of God like Mary and be filled. Find life and peace that Luther discovered 500 years ago, and that I discovered this week. It awaits you this Advent.