Faith, Hope, and Love, but the greatest of these is Love. 1 Corinthians 13:13.

We’ve reflected on the following so far: our faith is our solid and fixed belief system, and our hope originates not in our circumstances, but in whom Christ is and we are moving to make love our action. When we have these three concepts fully engaged in our lives: God moves on our behalf to give us the precious gift of peace.

Peace is the focus for our 4th week of Advent.

Jesus said:” “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. That promise is found in John 14 (NLT).

Advent means “the waiting” which should be a season of preparation and anticipation: we wait for Christ’s imminent return. We should live daily with the spirit of Advent within us.

Imagine  Mary’s season of preparation and anticipation in the 9 months she carried Jesus in her womb, imagine her raising her Christ-son, imagine her waiting after they buried her sweet boy in the tomb.

Peace is a byproduct on our faith, hope, and love. It is a gift given to us because we are no longer citizens of this world. As our names are recorded in the Book of Life, we become sojourners here. If heaven is our home, then what can the world do to us? No pain, disease, heartache, or ill can trump the hope of heaven.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 38-39

We have God’s peace because We have been given his great Love.

Today we are celebrating the third week of Advent. We have reflected on hope and faith in the prior two weeks and today’s focus is love.

If hope stems from our head and faith our hearts, then love’s anatomy is the feet. Love is action.

For God so loved the world….He sent us His son. If we could ever actually fathom what it means for the Almighty God, Creator and Sustain-er of the universe to become fully man, I think we would all be the most energetic, passionate, evangelists the world as ever seen. It is the wildest truth that can ever be told!

But, alas we are finite beings and can’t really grasp that type of sacrifice or love (and doesn’t even take into account Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross).

We become accustomed to the idea and even reduce the concept down to tiny ceramic figures that we traditionally display like the ones we have here. There is nothing wrong with a nativity set, but it’s also beneficial to remember the powerful truth behind those little figurines. GOD moved on our behalf in a huge way by sending Jesus– love is action. We celebrate this love today.

Emmanuel is a name that we use to describe the Christ child during this time of year: “God with us”      Emmanuel… God is with us– oh how He loves!

If love is action, then we too need to be people of action. I believe loving well involves 2 things: empathy and work. This year “loving” one another may look different than it ever has before. In some cases, love may mean not gathering together in the same ways as we typically would. And yet again, maybe this year love means we must gather. It may mean showing grace to people we disagree with and forgiving when things just aren’t what we’d hoped they be. Either way, couple empathy and action to love others well this season.

No one has been untouched by this pandemic. We all need the love of God.

The second candle of Advent is the Faith candle.

If hope is a construct built primarily on our thoughts, then faith is taking those thoughts and molding them into a fixed and solid belief system. As the writer of Hebrews shared: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

You are in or out with faith—there is no middle ground with Christ. Faith says “yes”

Mary is an example of such faith in action. Mary said “yes” when she was greeted by Gabriel’s message of her virgin birth. Joseph also said yes when faced with the delicate task of supporting Mary through his miraculous but difficult journey. Even the Shepherds responded in faith when visited by the Angel Gabriel. They all declared, “we believe” and then moved their feet” (which we will look at a bit more next week.) Faith is not about ease.

It’s okay to be uneasy about responding to God’s call in your life. It’s not always our emotions that are sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. It’ is our faith–our fixed and solid belief system that says “yes” to Christ as we understand him through His Word.

But, Mary exemplifies what our response should always be:

“I am the Lord’s servant. May Your word to me be fulfilled.”

And today–we celebrate–God does what He says He will do. Mary, the virgin mother, did indeed bring forth a child, and she named him Jesus—The Hope of the world. And you can put your faith in that.

The first week of Advent we are focusing on the concept of Hope. I believe this year has been a divine opportunity to refine our perspective and to re-examine from whom our HOPE dwells.

I hope you feel better soon. I hope to be there by noon. I hope this pandemic is over by Easter, August, by 2022! I hope I have enough toilet paper. I hope we don’t lose any one we love… I hope—I hope—I hope—

As disciples of Christ- we learned this year where our hope does not come from. It is not bound in tradition, routine, the government, or within ourselves. It’s not positive thinking or peppy optimism. Our Hope is found in Christ alone.

Romans 5 puts it this way:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

We can put our hope in our Lord Jesus Christ and we will not be put to shame. As our world has been rattled this year…nothing looks like we want it to. Things feel alien, and our plans lay in the wreckage of this nasty virus. We can find comfort in the truth that the change to our world and our plans have not surprised our Lord. He is today as He been and forever more will be. We do not need to fear- when our Hope is Christ.

The church has left the building!

Ideally– this would have been better if done years, decades, centuries ago,–and voluntarily–but nevertheless, Christians around the world have left the physical structures in which many hide. Our leaders, teachers, and mentors are not with us in the same way as we are accustomed. (Except for me, I live with mine.)

Now is the time to be the action takers.
Now is the time to shine brighter than the sun.

Call a friend or family member, pray, seek out opportunities to help those that are the most vulnerable, be generous, read the Word (you’ve got the time!), share the love of Jesus with someone…

The world is watching….

Let God get the glory for the great things He’s doing in this crisis.

It’s time for the church to be the church. And when this dies down, and we can gather together once more….don’t go back, don’t forget…

The church is out. No turning back now.                                       

   Go into all the world…

As I sit rocking my baby girl, it’s easy to reflect on how much has changed since we’ve been married and established our family.  I sit in a house that looks rather different than it did six years ago– before our first child joined us.  We are so different: stretched, tired, stressed, faith-full, and joy-filled.

The family presents an awesome opportunity for personal sanctification. Think of all the moments of spiritual growth that happen on a day-to-day basis as a mom:

1. Self-Sacrifice: the sleepless nights, the last cookie, the career ambitions, evenings at the ball field, all the cleaning and washing and re-cleaning and re-washing.
2. Patience: raising more than one 3 year old.
3. Dependence on Christ and Prayer:  with a sick kid,  anxiety, being a full-time working mom, this world that we live in, kindergarten.
4. Finding joy… in the mess, on the tough days, when it all falls apart.
5. Thankfulness for every smile, laugh, hug, and kiss.
6. Grace: extending it to others and accepting it, too.

My family is the place I’ve found my purpose and my home. It’s where I am becoming the woman God has always called me to be. It’s my best gift, my biggest blessing, and my place for sanctification. Thank you, Jesus, for my family!

Sometimes it feels like small, rural church ministry is brutal. It’s not the people or lack of resources–it’s the pace.  Establishing yourself in a community, restoring reputations and relationships, creating change all happen at a tortoise’s pace.  But, we know how that fable ends.

It’s the well-meaning folks who ask when we’ll be looking for a real church like this one doesn’t count.  This is our church and these are our people—this is our community.

Sometimes it feels crazy, entirely impossible, and slightly ridiculous. But I can’t let go. There is a seed in my heart that has sprouted.  In the depths, I know He can.  In the ugly and frustration and in the waiting, it lingers still.  Faith is the belief in what we cannot see.  It’s got me.

We know well enough when it’s time to move on, and we know when we’ve been asked to stay.  It doesn’t make sense, not by anyone’s normal standards, but until He decides otherwise.  We will remain–planting seeds and praying for sprouts.

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?” Luke 15:4 ESV

What man among you would leave the lost sheep to be devoured? It’s a given–no man.

The parable of the lost sheep is a powerful image of Christ’s longing to restore our broken relationship and His grace. I believe it is also a powerful image of Christ’s redemptive plan for humanity: one soul at a time. We, Christ-followers, are an integral part of that plan.

There is one person that you have been called to share the gospel with. Your relationship has been divinely appointed. But, too often we let our poor sheep wander lost. It’s not that we don’t care or love enough or that we don’t believe in the transforming power of the gospel. It’s just…

99+1= 100. To reach them all, we need to reach out to our one sheep. Until he/she finds Him…