thinking & writing on faith, life, mentoring, and motherhood
To most of the world, nothing seemed strange about that night. The same troubles, the same heartaches, the same anxieties, the same dead hearts, the same lost souls, the same chasm between man and God that had been for days, years, and centuries. It seemed that way to them as they drudged and muddled through their days and nights. But if they only knew Who had come to dwell among them, their lives could be forever changed.
Perhaps one reason this version is fast becoming a favorite among adult women is that director Greta Gerwig’s perspective reflects our own angst and distress over whether we make a difference in this world—or at least in the little spheres we inhabit. Gerwig knew exactly who her audience would be.
Rehearsing for heaven happens when we obey God’s commands and it manifests like fellowship, exhortation, edification, comfort, mercy care, discipline, encouragement, and accountability. Surely the world will know who the choir members are—not by robes or vestments or matching outfits, but by our love for one another.
The wall between the people of God and the nations who represented lawlessness, immorality and absence of God was being dismantled, and it wasn’t brick by brick, it was section by section. In the New Covenant, the descendants of Abraham include Gentile believers, and with sweet humility, Peter hints that he isn’t even half the man that they are.
Christina writes with transparency about her own fears and failures, doubts and trials and afflictions. But her focus is on the vastness of the gospel and the promises of Christ, and she examines how faithful and Spirit-empowered obedience to God’s word unveils the perspective we need to face life’s daily struggles. We are so inclined to start with the struggles and end with whatever Christianesque plug we can find to fix the problem. Christina puts things in the right order.
This is the divine recipe for the bride’s beauty treatment: otherworldly love that compelled a King to sacrifice himself on her behalf.
We need to preach the gospel of freedom in Christ to ourselves. We need to remind ourselves daily, hourly, moment by moment, how merciful and patient the Lord is with us.
Who says Christmas has to come to a close? Who says that just because the boxes and bags get broken down and packed away for use next year that we can’t intentionally and carefully prepare beautiful presents and packages of love and ministry for others?
What is a Wenceslas, and why do we sing about it at Christmas time? What is it about this jaunty little tune by John Mason Neale that has earned it a place in the Christmas carol repertoire as well as in the hearts of many for the past 160 years — even though not a word about Christmas is mentioned anywhere in the lyrics?
We won’t be left on this island of misfit toys forever. He has prepared a room for us where he will be also.
#thereyougothinkingagain 