Advent ABC: Shepherd

Isaiah 40:11 (49:9-10) The Lord will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

Karis was ten. We were in Detroit for surgery on her intestine. The rest of our family was at home in São Paulo, Brazil. (I learned later that eight-year-old Rachel had started a fire in the kitchen trying to cook for her siblings while Dave was out. A neighbor “happened” by, put out the fire, took my children to her house to feed them, and later had words with their father. But that’s another story…)

Before she was taken through the double doors into the surgery suite, I overheard Karis tell a new friend at the hospital that she wasn’t afraid, for herself or for me, because of Isaiah 40:11. The Holy Spirit shot that assurance straight into my heart, puncturing an expanding balloon of worry. Every time I hear Jesus referred to as Shepherd, I flash back to that precious moment.

Our Brazilian friend Roseli painted this for Rachel.

Turn to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls … The Lamb on the throne will be your Shepherd. He will lead you to springs of life-giving water and wipe every tear from your eyes (1 Peter 2:25, Revelation 7:17).

The Lord’s My Shepherd, Stuart Townend

Advent ABC: Quiet Place

Isaiah 28:12, 30:15 (Mark 6:31) God has told his people, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest. … Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.”

Shutterstock: Mashosh

During Elijah’s struggle with anger and depression, three violent events drove the prophet into a cave on Mt. Sinai: a mighty windstorm, an earthquake, and fire. After that God spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice (1 Kings 19). This story has inspired dozens of artists, famous and less well known. This is one of the latter. Interesting that Elijah had to face so much before he was able to hear God speak to him. And it’s interesting that through the entire period of his suffering, God was present with him and caring for him.

Do you take time to access the Quiet Place, God’s heart, so you can hear him speak to you?

In these tumultuous and busy days, taking time to be still and rest in his strength and sovereignty and wisdom and grace, and receive his quiet direction, is more important than ever.

A Quiet Place/Near to the Heart of God, sung by Alessandra Sorace

Advent ABC: Prince of Peace

Isaiah 9:6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

I’m thinking of Jesus bringing peace in two contexts today. Remember Simon and Garfunkel’s song “7 O’Clock News”? It was released in 1966. Have we made any progress since then? Any efforts I can make toward peace in the world, like joining the “Stop the War” demonstration in Pittsburgh this afternoon, seem so tiny. Yet I can join you and you can join me in praying for men to open their hearts to the Prince of Peace.

Shutterstock: Grand Warszawski

The other level is my own heart, my own small sphere, inviting him into the spaces of struggle there.

These songs address these two levels.

Prince of Peace, Hillsong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc0DKzPdv44

Prince of Peace, Celtic Worship https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfr1FaqWQ0E

Advent ABC: Our God

Isaiah 25:9 (Isaiah 46:3-4, Malachi 4:2, Romans 5:10-11, Hebrews 4:15, 16, 2 Peter 1:1) In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings.”

Trust isn’t easy, especially when we’ve been betrayed. When someone we have trusted has not just disappointed us, but has deliberately hurt us for their own ends. Because the Three-in-One God understands this, Jesus came, to experience in a body what betrayal is. That’s why we can go to him to find mercy and grace in our time of need. This is our God, not a being far off, but one who draws near, in compassion and full understanding. With healing in his wings.

This is Our God, Phil Wickham

Advent ABC: Noel (Born of God)

Galatians 4:4 (Isaiah 9:6) But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

I didn’t know until now that Noel means “born of God.” Did you? Unto us a child is born … The incredible mystery of the incarnation. God made man, born, living, and dying in our fractured, messy world. “The visible image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

When she was 13, Karis imagined what it would be like to be a pregnant teenager, bearing God’s Son. We ran across this story while sorting through her things and made it into a booklet. Several who have read it have told me that for them now, “this is how it happened.”

If you would like a copy of Mary’s Diary, let me know! debrakornfield@gmail.com

Noel, Chris Tomlin (featuring Lauren Daigle)

Advent ABC: Mighty One

Isaiah 33:21, 24 (Ephesians 1:19-20, Hebrews 1:3) The Lord will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross, that no ship can sail upon.

Jesus’s love would mean less uncoupled from his power to act on behalf of his beloved, and his authority over everything in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Listen to the author of Hebrews: The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command (1:3).

I need this word today, as I grapple with the severity of my brother-in-law Bill’s injuries from being hit by a car while riding his bike. Only the Lord has the power to sustain Bill and his family against the enemies of despair, anxiety, and depression. Please pray with us for Jesus’s mighty power to prevail against these enemies. Thank you.

Bill’s first check-up x-rays yesterday, two weeks after surgery to insert a rod to secure the two fragments of his tibia considered worth trying to save. This is a guy who normally rides his bike 15-30 miles daily. His left foot also suffered several broken bones.

In what way today do you need to see Jesus’s power at work?

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Holy One, your Savior. … Do not be afraid, for I am with you (Isaiah 43:2-5).

Mighty God (Another Hallelujah), Elevation Worship

Advent ABC: King of kings

1 Timothy 6:15 (Isaiah 32:1, Revelation 17:14, 19:16) For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

Handel and Isaac Watts and Chris Tomlin say it better than I could.

He Shall Reign Forevermore, Chris Tomlin

Jesus Shall Reign, by Isaac Watts, sung by Kristyn Getty

The Hallelujah Chorus, George Frideric Handel

Advent ABC: God of all the earth

Isaiah 54:5 (Acts 3:25) For the Lord is the God of all the earth.

I’ve been invited to write a chapter for a book on patriotism. Perhaps because I was born and grew up in Guatemala, have lived in several countries and have visited many others, when I think of patriotism, I first think of Jesus saying the Gospel would preached to every nation.

Shutterstock: magr80

The Lord is God of all the earth, with sons and daughters in every country who are my brothers and sisters. This makes every war feel to me like a civil war. Does this impact my sense of patriotism? Of course, it does. One day the “artificial” boundaries between countries that matter so much to the world today will no longer divide us. Advent helps us anticipate that day.

Come Let Us Worship the King Sandi Patty

Advent ABC: Everlasting Father

Isaiah 40:28-29 (9:6, Genesis 21:33) Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.

There are several worship songs on the theme of Everlasting Father. I chose this one because it invokes Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son—which in turn reminds me of Rembrandt’s painting.

In the novel I’ve just submitted for publication, Facing the Faeries 1906, there is a “homecoming” chapter in which one of the characters, who has lived as an orphan, discovers he is loved and cherished by family. Thus, today’s theme is particularly moving for me. So many of us have lived “fatherless.” The Everlasting Father invites us home.

Everlasting Father, Elevation Worship

Advent ABC: Beloved

Matthew 12:17-21 (Isaiah 42:1-4) This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning Jesus: “Look at my Servant whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. And his name will be the hope of all the world.

I love this description of Jesus, bringing justice with the gentleness that comes with true strength, a love song the Father sings over his son, whom he sees and profoundly knows. It’s a glimpse into the tender affection shared by the Trinity from before time—a relationship that we, incredibly, are invited into.

Jesus My Beloved, Jonathan Ogden